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WATCH: HMS Dragon FINALLY leaves Portsmouth and sets sail for Cyprus amid escalating war
Mar 10, 2026
HMS Dragon has finally left Portsmouth and has started its journey towards the eastern Mediterranean to defend RAF Akrotiri. The airbase was targeted by an Iranian-made drone on the second day of the Iran war - but the Type 45 Destroyer was unable to be deployed until today. As it left with more than 200 crew, the British warship, loaded with ammunition, could be seen being pulled along by tug boats through the harbour.Around 100 people could be spotted waving their loved ones off from the dock.The Government has come under fire for the amount of time it has taken to send off HMS Dragon after it took longer than a week for the vessel to be readied for deployment.But, on Monday, Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs crews had been working "tirelessly, 22 hours a day" to deploy the warship within the next 48 hours.WATCH THE CLIP ABOVE FOR MORE
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0:00
HMS Dragon is about to set sail for the eastern Mediterranean
0:03
We can confirm that's about to happen. OK, and just to remind you, if you're joining us
0:06
there's a 10 past four HMS Dragon there off the coast of Portsmouth
0:10
Still more, but all the sailors, if we can zoom in at all, you can see on deck, it's called Procedure Alpha
0:17
To the right of your picture there, you can see a great many of the crew lined up
0:22
This is a procedure where they set sail and they are able to wave to their loved ones as they leave port
0:30
A map on your screen now just showing where the HM, His Majesty's Naval Base is in Portsmouth
0:36
short of the coast there. Then the craft will begin its journey along the coast
0:42
before going, of course, down south and go right around France, right around Spain
0:46
into the mouth of the Mediterranean, and then on to final destination
0:50
some 2,000 nautical miles away to Cyprus. We're hearing now this is not a training exercise
0:57
You can see there are tugs at the fore and the aft of the craft. That normally means it can be positioned more adeptly and speedily than the dragon can do herself
1:08
It has all the hallmarks now. This is not a training exercise. At long, long last, HMS Dragon will be sailing to join the fleet in the Mediterranean to provide some much need
1:20
I have to say, belated Johnny-come-lately cover to the airbase there at Cyprus
1:27
Sir Mal Stride, you're with us today. Of course, one of the huge conversations is the price of petrol
1:32
This is all about now securing the oil through the Straits of Hormuz
1:38
And the Conservative Party today, I believe, you're acting on trying to make sure
1:42
the price of the petrol at the pump stays affordable for British motorists
1:46
Yeah, well, Martin, one of the things we did when we were in government was for 15 consecutive years we froze fuel duty and in fact on two occasions we actually cut it and didn put it back up again We are now facing a government that is saying that as from September they will for the first time in 15 years be putting up fuel duty
2:03
It's the wrong thing to be doing at the wrong time. We've got pressure on the price of petrol at the pumps
2:10
People are feeling the squeeze. It will get a lot worse than it's going to be over the next few days and weeks
2:15
And we think they should think again. So we are actually praying against what's called a statutory instrument
2:20
which is a legislative vehicle for bringing that change in, and we will be resisting it in the House of Commons
2:25
We've got a national petition running at the moment that is getting tens and tens of thousands of signatures as well
2:31
and we're going to do all we can to resist this increase. Sir Mel Supo, now I have a guest waiting, but Chris, you've got a quick line
2:37
Just for Mel's stride, Sir Mel, we were told today in the briefing with the PM spokesman
2:41
that they are aware of the issue of fuel duty, but they won't act outside of a budget
2:47
which implies that this will change, as expected, at the end of August. Or can she act outside of a budget and will she do so
2:53
She can act outside of a budget. She could withdraw that statutory instrument
2:57
She could support us in opposing it if she really wanted to. But, of course, the budget will be almost certainly in November
3:03
and all of this is going to start kicking in in September. So she needs to get her skates on
3:08
But we are keeping up the pressure, Chris. OK, thank you, Samel. Thank you, Chris. Chris, keep over the new lines coming out for us
3:14
is happening thick and fast. Just a reminder, live pictures on your screen now
3:18
It's moving. There we go. HMS Dragon. Hurrah. Hurrah. Anchors away. Beautiful sight
3:26
HMS Dragon finally moving off the coast of Portsmouth, Royal Britannia. Look at it
3:32
It's magnificent. It might have taken a long while to come, but what a sight
3:37
Let's get my next guest in now. It's the Naval yst and the Director of the website
3:41
Navy Lookout, Pete Sandeman. And Pete, you joined us at a magnificent moment, finally
3:46
HMS Dragon she away Indeed It good to see her sail Lots of people have been working very hard around the clock for the last week or so to get her out This time last week I believe she was still in dry dock
3:59
so they've done amazingly well to get her out. Pete, I just want to repeat what we've been saying all along
4:05
We can see now the sailors on the back deck there lining up Procedure Alpha, I believe that is called
4:12
a part of the heritage of a ship leaving port so they can wave goodbye to their loved ones as they leave the port of Portsmouth
4:20
Indeed, yeah. It's tradition when ships go on a major deployment for them
4:25
to do procedure out on the way out and on the way home. And, Pete, we must recall, we must remember here
4:32
despite the fact we've been very critical of the leaden-footed politicians, those on deck, those on board, those serving king and country
4:41
they'll be itching to get sailing, they'll be itching to get out there. Absolutely. That's their job. That's what they're trained to do
4:49
Yeah, certainly morale will be high. They'll be keen to get on with the job
4:53
Obviously, this ship is in the national spotlight. They're keen to impress and do what they can
5:01
Obviously, it's going to take time to get to the Eastern Mediterranean. What the situation will be in five or six days when she might get there, who knows
5:09
But it's certainly good. Now, whether she should have gone earlier is, you know, that's very debatable
5:18
Her main advantage is that she can provide ballistic missile defence. If Iran should fire ballistic missiles at Cyprus, whether that would be the case, I don't know
5:28
So far, I believe they've been attacked by much slower drones, probably fired from Lebanon by Hezbollah
5:35
Now, there are obviously assets on Cyprus that can intercept those kind of drones if
5:41
they given enough warning But the destroyer is the A grade air defence Her sister ship served in the Red Sea in 2023 and 2024
5:55
shot down the Houthi drones. So they're well proven and capable of intercepting
6:00
ballistic missile and drone threats. And that's the point, is it not, Pete Sanderman
6:05
that a craft such as this just has more firepower to be able to intercept those higher-speed projectiles
6:12
being sent in by the Iranians. Drones are one thing. Drones are slow-moving
6:17
They're cheap, but they're slow-moving. They can be taken down by helicopters, even from the ground
6:21
But if an intercontinental ballistic missile is coming your way, you need something like HMS Dragon on your side
6:27
Absolutely, yeah. I mean, this is the high-end option. I would also point out she has very, very good sensors
6:33
That spinning ball on the top, the Samson radar, which is part of the Sea Viper missile system
6:38
system is certainly a world-class system that can see a very long way, can track multiple
6:45
supersonic, hypersonic targets and cue the ASTOR missiles which are again very effective
6:53
although very expensive. And Sir Mel Stride, just to bring you back into the conversation
7:00
here, there has been a spiky relationship has to be said between Sir Keir Starmer and
7:06
Donald Trump. We heard that Donald Trump said if the craft came, he didn't
7:12
really want them. They were too late. Nobody likes people who join
7:16
a war late. Some might say it's a bit rich coming from the Americans going back to
7:19
the 1940s. I digress. But surely now, when this magnificent sight reaches
7:26
over the pond, they'll be delighted of the fact that Britain is finally deploying
7:30
I think it is too late to restore the relationship in the
7:34
short term because I think what America looked for was about a cute moment when they went in and they wanted that
7:40
support from their key allies the reality is it
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