Nicosia, Cyprus. A British Merlin Mk2 utility helicopter and an engineering team are to arrive in Cyprus on Tuesday as the United Kingdom and other countries bolster their military presence in and around the island after it was hit by an Iranian-made drone last week.
Royal Navy says Merlin Mk2 adds aerial threat defence
The UK’s Royal Navy said the helicopter “provides a defence against aerial threats” because it can fly up to a mile high and “look ‘over the horizon’” to offer “advance warning of incoming drones or missiles”.
Engineering team experience and layered defence plans
Royal Navy representative Captain James Hall said the engineering team “already has experience of providing force protection from similar threats”, after deploying to the Red Sea last year during transits led by the carrier strike group of the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier.
Hall said this “will also compliment the defensive measures provided by the [AW159] Wildcat aircraft and HMS Dragon, when she arrives in the region next week, providing a layered capability for the protection of UK forces”.
HMS Dragon deployment and additional Wildcat helicopters
HMS Dragon is a Type 45 destroyer warship and is being readied at the port of Portsmouth, after British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced its planned deployment to the waters around Cyprus last week.
Two Wildcat helicopters were initially sent to Cyprus and arrived on Friday. On Monday night, the British defence ministry said “further” such helicopters have since been deployed to the island, without specifying how many.
UK defence secretary visit and air defence coordination
Last Thursday, British Defence Secretary John Healey visited Cyprus and met his Cypriot counterpart Vasilis Palmas, before promising that “top experts” had arrived on the island “to help coordinate the air defences”.
Sunak criticises timing as French presence noted
Starmer’s predecessor Rishi Sunak on Sunday accused him of lacking “strategic acumen” over perceived delays in deploying British assets after the drone strike.
Sunak said, “Given how much notice we had of these strikes, why was no ship moved to the Mediterranean to help protect our interests and allies? It is frankly embarrassing that the French appear to be doing more to protect Cyprus than we are, even though Cyprus is only a target because of our sovereign bases there.”
His reference to France came ahead of a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Cyprus on Monday, and with the French frigate Languedoc having arrived in Cyprus within 72 hours of the drone strike.
What do you think the UK’s additional deployments will change for air defence in Cyprus?
