Search
04 Mar 2026
Search
04 Mar 2026
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
The warship being deployed to protect the British base in Cyprus may not even sail until next week.
Defence Secretary John Healey promised that the Government was “moving quickly” to reinforce its presence in the eastern Mediterranean, but HMS Dragon is not expected to leave Portsmouth this week.
The Type 45 air defence destroyer is intended to strengthen protection against drones and missiles launched by Iran and its proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The need for extra protection was underlined after a drone hit the RAF Akrotiri base on Cyprus in the early hours of Monday.
The destroyer’s voyage from Portsmouth to Cyprus is expected to take several days and specialist news website Navy Lookout reported that “Dragon is expected to sail early next week”.
The Ministry of Defence has not commented on the timing of Dragon’s departure, but has not denied the report.
The vessel was seen taking on supplies at Portsmouth’s upper harbour ammunition facility on Wednesday morning.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
