Britain announced today that it is deploying its warship HMS Dragon to the Middle East in preparation for a potential multinational effort to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as conditions permit.
The HMS Dragon is an anti-aircraft defence destroyer and was deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean in March, shortly after the start of air bombardment against Iran, helping to defend Cyprus.
The destroyer’s repositioning in the Middle East follows a move by France to deploy its carrier strike group in the southern Red Sea as the two countries cooperate on a defence plan aimed at restoring confidence in the maritime trade route.
