Why is HMS Dragon taking so long to get to Cyprus?
This Is Why
Sky News
4.0 • 552 Ratings
🗓️ 6 March 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The warship HMS Dragon is now not expected to leave for the Mediterranean until next week to begin its mission to defend a British military base in Cyprus from attacks by Iran.
The ship is one of six Type 45 air defence destroyers in the Royal Navy and one of three that aren’t currently out of service.
It is well-equipped to deal with Iran’s Shahed-type drones, so why has it taken so long to send it to the region?
Niall speaks to defence analyst Tom Sharpe, who also spent 27 years in the Royal Navy, about the military capabilities of HMS Dragon, the state of the Navy currently, and when the warship might finally arrive in the Med.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email the show – why@sky.uk
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sky News, the full story first. |
| 0:09.0 | HMS Dragon might not arrive in time to be of any use in the Iran conflict. |
| 0:17.0 | This is why. |
| 0:24.6 | Pain in my hip. I keep feeling dizzy. |
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| 1:20.3 | An extraordinary job done by someone like you. |
| 1:26.8 | Hi everyone, Neil here. |
| 1:28.7 | And at the end of a week of what feels like wall-to-all coverage of the Iran War, |
| 1:32.3 | we thought we'd slow things down slightly, |
| 1:34.6 | which of course is something our military planners have been accused of. |
| 1:38.5 | After all, why don't we already have ships in the region? |
| 1:42.1 | Well, the decision has finally been taken to send HMS |
| 1:45.5 | Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, to bolster our kit and manpower in the Middle East. |
| 1:54.8 | And look, no one would deny it is very impressive. It was the first Navy ship to shoot |
... |
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