The UK is deploying a Royal Navy warship to the Middle East in preparation for a possible multinational mission to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the Defense Ministry said on Saturday, Anadolu Agency reports.
The HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer previously stationed in the eastern Mediterranean near Cyprus, will “pre-position” in the region and stand ready to join a UK- and French-led maritime initiative once conditions allow, multiple UK news outlets reported, citing the ministry spokesman.
The proposed mission, backed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, aims to ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We can confirm that HMS Dragon will deploy to the Middle East to pre-position ahead of any future multinational mission to protect international shipping when conditions allow them to transit the Strait of Hormuz,” the spokesperson said.
You can just say the Royal Navy warship, I think we only have one these days, right? 🥲
We have 6 type 45s
Then there’s the two aircraft carriers, 7 type 23 frigates, 4 Vanguard class submarines and 6 Astute class. There’s others, but that’s the main thrust.
It’s not massive but it’s all reasonably modern.
The Type 45 has turned out to be a bit of a lemon. Daring has only just returned after being laid up for 8 whole years to replace its failed propulsion equipment. In Summer 2021, Defender was the sole operational vessel, the rest laid up with failures. It has been a bit embarrassing.
One of the exacerbating issues is that it has a rather old-fashioned design paradigm, which means the whole ship is one integrated unit, rather than the modern style of modular design and build. This means it’s very involved to change one thing. To replace the poorly-conceived diesel generators, the ship had to be cut open and the whole electrical system redone.
The Astutes have barely been better. Construction has been troubled, and only Anson is in service. And that’s been sent to Australia to gladhand the Aussies. And as soon as another Astute becomes ready, Anson is to be brought in for refurbishment so the shortages continue. Motivation is low on these builds, as the Navy confirmed they’re dumping the Astutes as soon as the AUKUS vessels come in.
The Vanguards are immaterial to conventional warfare, but they haven’t been too hot either with more availability woes.
Both QE carriers are technically available, but PoW has a dicky starboard propeller shaft, and in any case, with over half the fleet out of action, there are too few vessels to form an adequate escort force so they won’t find themselves near a war.