Royal Navy's Humiliation as France Steps In to Protect Cyprus After Iranian Attack
In the 2003 epic war film Master and Commander, Royal Navy captain Jack Aubrey, portrayed by Russell Crowe, delivers a stirring speech to his officers before battle. As the wooden warship HMS Surprise prepares to confront the French in the Pacific Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars, he declares: 'Though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship, is England.'
Fast forward approximately 220 years from the film's setting, and the Royal Navy's vessels are more likely to be tied up inactive in England than deployed on the far side of the world. This reality was starkly highlighted yesterday when the Navy, still known as the 'Senior Service', suffered the humiliation of potentially having the French perform its duties.
International Response to Iranian Drone Strike
After RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus was successfully attacked by Iranian drones late on Sunday, the country's president appealed to Paris for assistance in protecting the island. President Emmanuel Macron responded by pledging to dispatch two frigates and other assets, supplementing the Charles De Gaulle aircraft carrier strike group which has been redeployed to the region, though it will require time to arrive.
Greece also agreed to send warships, and Cyprus even requested naval assistance from Germany. The embarrassment of relying on other nations for sea-borne protection eventually spurred Keir Starmer and Navy commanders into action, with a hasty announcement last night that HMS Dragon, a Type 45 air defence destroyer, will be sent to the eastern Mediterranean.
The vessel was photographed today loading ammunition in Portsmouth. However, it will take over a week to reach its destination, raising the obvious question: with Donald Trump spending weeks sabre-rattling against Iran before launching attacks at the weekend, why was there no ship already in the area to guard against reprisals?
Navy Readiness and Political Clashes
The well-connected Naval Lookout website reports that Navy commanders offered to send a ship to Cyprus in readiness for potential attacks, but ministers opted to proceed with planned NATO exercises off Northern Europe instead. This decision prompted a major clash between Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister's Questions today.
Former head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Lord West, told the Mail: 'Nelson will be spinning in his grave,' adding: 'When I was First Sea Lord, I tended to send warships towards the sound of the guns.' Today, he stated that the Royal Navy is 'too small' and has 'not been looked after properly.'
'The bottom line is the Navy's in a more parlous state than at any stage in the 60 years I've been on the active list,' he said. 'It's too small, it's not been looked after properly, there's been insufficient funds spent on it, and I'm afraid it doesn't deliver what the nation needs.'
Fleet Inactivity and Mechanical Issues
An unofficial list of Royal Navy readiness circulating online since the attack suggests that of its major warship and submarine fleet, just one is currently at sea. The remainder are in various naval bases, either having recently returned from deployment, undergoing regular maintenance, or receiving more extensive refits.
- Of the six Type 45 destroyers the UK possesses, only three are capable of putting to sea. The other three are in various stages of repair in Portsmouth after a major issue was discovered that prevented their engines from functioning in warm seas. Astonishingly, HMS Daring, the lead ship of the class, has been out of action for nearly nine years.
- Similarly, the UK's two aircraft carriers, Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, are both in dock undergoing repairs and maintenance. Queen Elizabeth has been inactive for almost 18 months.
- Only two of the seven Type 23 frigates based in Plymouth are in a condition to set sail.
Britain also maintains five Astute Class attack submarines, which would not aid in protecting Cyprus but could launch pre-emptive cruise missile strikes at Iranian sites. However, of these five, only HMS Anson is overseas, currently in Australia on a public relations visit coupled with maintenance in Perth to promote the new AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement.
Historical Decline and Political Blame
At the height of the Cold War, when the threat of a nuclear apocalypse sparked by Russia was at its peak, the Royal Navy operated hundreds of warships. In 1960, its vast fleet included eight aircraft carriers and could call upon 156 frigates and destroyers.
By the early 1980s, this number had nearly halved, and the end of the Cold War ushered in a new wave of cuts as politicians envisioned a period of peace that failed to materialise. Today, the fleet consists of just two aircraft carriers—both plagued by breakdowns—six Type 45 destroyers costing one billion pounds each, and a handful of ageing frigates and patrol ships.
Both Labour and the Conservatives share blame for these cuts, with governments of both parties implementing reductions over the decades since the end of the Second World War. Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch clashed on the issue at Prime Minister's Questions today.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told the Commons that Labour's priorities 'are all wrong,' stating: 'He says that we are pre-deploying – the one ship which we are sending, HMS Dragon, is still in Portsmouth. The fact is the Type 45 cannot take out incoming missiles. This is not enough.'
Turning to the spring forecast statement made by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on Tuesday, Mrs Badenoch continued: 'Yesterday, the Chancellor could have given more money to defence. Instead, she gave more money for welfare. Their priorities are all wrong.' She asked: 'Why is he leaving the job of funding our armed forces to the next government?'
Sir Keir replied: 'I'm not going to take lectures on defence from the party opposite. They came into office and what did they do? They cut the defence budget.' He later added: 'Not only did they cut the defence budget, they missed Army recruitment targets every year for 14 years, they left morale in our armed forces at an all-time low and our forces hollowed out – that's the words of Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary.'
He further stated that his Government is 'delivering the biggest boost of defence spending since the Cold War – £270 billion over this Parliament.'
Criticism and Future Challenges
Facing questions from broadcasters on Wednesday, Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray insisted the UK had been building up defensive capability in recent weeks amid criticism of a lack of air defence in the region. He told Times Radio: 'What's important is that we have been prepared in the build-up toward this and that we now step up and make sure we have the defensive capability there.'
However, former Royal Navy Falklands conflict commander Rear Admiral Chris Parry decried Labour's 'strategically illiterate' approach to the Iran crisis. The retired officer, now a Reform UK election candidate, told the Daily Mail: 'The Government has been shamed into this token, paltry effort by the actions of other countries such as France and Greece.'
'As a proud maritime country, our politicians should not have to be dragged kicking and screaming into a conflict in which British lives and interests were clearly going to be at stake.'
The Type 45s, described as 'the backbone of the Royal Navy' when first launched, are equipped with Sea Viper missiles capable of shooting down enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones. Yet, problems with the destroyers' Rolls Royce engine cooling system meant the ships were prone to losing power in hot climates, such as the Persian Gulf and the Caribbean.
All Type 45s have undergone or are undergoing a refit known as the Power Improvement Programme at a cost exceeding £160 million. The repair work involves replacing two existing diesel generators with three new ones and modifying the high voltage system on each ship.
The Royal Navy has also faced embarrassment due to mechanical issues with HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. In February 2024, Queen Elizabeth was due to lead Exercise Steadfast Defender—the largest NATO exercise since the Cold War—but this was cancelled at the last minute after a problem with her starboard propeller shaft was detected during final checks.
Two months later, the flagship was forced to undergo additional repairs following a fire onboard that damaged the crews' sleeping quarters. The 932-foot-long warship, with a displacement of around 80,000 tonnes, entered service in 2018 and completed a global deployment in 2021.
However, in November of that year, a UK-operated F-35B crashed on take-off from the carrier into the sea after the crew forgot to remove a cover from an air vent. It spent nine months tied up in Portsmouth before sailing last July to Rosyth in Scotland for what was branded a seven-month 'MOT' in dry dock.
In 2022, Prince of Wales broke down while heading out for joint exercises with the US Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the US Marine Corps. The carrier halted off the Isle of Wight and was towed back into Portsmouth harbour for repairs. It was later repaired and deployed to the Pacific last year in a show of strength to China but has been undergoing maintenance since its return.
Recruitment and Strategic Concerns
New ships are under construction, including modern Type 31 and 26 frigates set to replace the ageing Type 23 vessels. While this will eventually nearly double the number of frigates the Royal Navy operates, the first ones are not due to enter service until later this decade.
Their planned introduction will exacerbate the Navy's other significant problem: finding enough sailors to man the ships it does possess. Long gone are the days of 'press-ganging,' where men could be forcibly recruited to serve on wooden ships of the line.
According to Ministry of Defence figures, the Navy's regular strength was 35,545 in the last quarter of last year. This figure is down almost 3,400 since 2012—enough to crew approximately 17 Type 45s or two Queen Elizabeth carriers, including their air wings.
The conflict with Iran is not the only situation demanding the UK's attention. The head of the Royal Navy warned in December that Britain must 'step up' on defence or risk losing its advantage in the Atlantic, as Russia continues to invest billions in its naval capabilities.
In a speech in London, First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said there was 'no room for complacency' while Moscow heavily invests in its northern fleet. Sir Gwyn noted a spike in 'Russian incursion in our waters'—most visibly seen in spy ships like the Yantar near UK waters—but warned: 'It's what's going on under the waves that most concerns me.'
The Government announced earlier this year that UK defence and security spending would rise to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035 at the latest. Its strategic spending review last year stated the country should move towards having a 'more powerful but cheaper and simpler fleet' with a hybrid mix of crewed, uncrewed, and increasingly autonomous vessels and aircraft.
However, Defence Secretary John Healey and Chancellor Rachel Reeves are reportedly at odds over the speed of the spending increase. Last month, the government announced that military personnel will provide advice in jobcentres to individuals seeking careers in the armed forces, under new plans to boost recruitment.
The agreement between the MoD and the Department for Work and Pensions will connect Jobcentre Plus directly to military training and careers. The MoD stated this move would create 'opportunities for tens of thousands of young people,' with armed forces career offices partnered with jobcentres.
