HMS Dragon commanding officer ‘immensely proud’ after Cyprus arrival

The commanding officer of the United Kingdom’s Type 45 destroyer the HMS Dragon Ian Griffin on Tuesday said he is “immensely proud”, after the ship arrived in the waters off Cyprus on Monday evening.

“It has been a busy three weeks getting the ship fuelled, stored, ammunitioned, worked-up and deployed to the eastern Mediterranean. My team has been put through its paces, conducting mission rehearsal training during our transit to Cyprus, and they have stepped up to the challenge,” he said.

He added that the sailors aboard the ship have “delivered with their characteristic determination, professionalism and good humour”.

“I am immensely proud of what [the HMS] Dragon has achieved, and we are ready to do whatever our country calls us to do,” he said.

The UK’s Royal Navy said the training exercises carried out en route to Cyprus included “dealing with intensive realistic scenarios, including air defence serials, firing upper deck guns … damage control, firefighting and medical first response, person overboard drills, and aircraft crash on deck scenario training”.

Meanwhile, the UK’s First Sea Lord Sir Gwyn Jenkins said that the HMS Dragon was “rapidly brought to readiness and deployed from Portsmouth”, and that now, the ship will “play her full part in defending Cyprus and the wider eastern Mediterranean”.

Equipped with the cutting-edge sea viper system, she can tackle a wide range of threats, he said, before adding that he has “every confidence” that its crew will “rise to the task before them”.

The sea viper is a sea-to-air missile defence system which can track “hundreds” of targets simultaneously at a range of up to 402km, while engaging threats, including drones and supersonic missiles, at a range of around 112km, firing up to eight missiles in under 10 seconds.

“In uncertain times, her presence is a visible demonstration of the Royal Navy’s commitment to protecting our people and our interests, at home and overseas,” he said.

British Defence Secretary John Healey had announced HMS Dragon’s arrival in Cyprus on Monday evening, saying that the ship will now begin “operational integration into Cyprus’ defence”.

The ship had set sail from Portsmouth on March 10, with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announcing its deployment alongside two AW159 Wildcat helicopters, after Cyprus’ British Akrotiri air force base was hit by an Iranian-made drone on March 2.

Starmer had then been forced to explain perceived delays to the ship’s deployment, telling the UK’s parliament that the ship was being “carefully … loaded with the anti-strike ammunition and capability that it needs” before it could set sail eight days after the drone strike.

Since then, a third Wildcat helicopter and a Merlin Mk2 helicopter have also been sent to the island, while Healey said “top experts” had arrived on the island “to help coordinate the air defences”.

The HMS Dragon’s arrival came after Starmer had told Christodoulides that Cyprus’ security is “fundamental” to the UK, and reiterated that the country’s bases in Cyprus “will not be used for any offensive military operations”,