'Power cuts and propulsion failures' on HMS Dragon with Portsmouth warship en-route to Cyprus amid Iran chaos
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Engineering malfunctions have blighted HMS Dragon’s voyage to the eastern Mediterranean as the Iran war continues.
The Sun reports that the Type 45 destroyer has run into various problems following her deployment from Portsmouth on March 10. The national publication said “power cuts and propulsion failures” occurred on board, after being readied in a matter of six days.
Plans were originally in place for her to be dry docked until April and take charge of Nato’s Standing Maritime Group 1 operation. The Royal Navy warship was seen leaving Gibraltar yesterday (March 17) to take on stores and rotate members of the crew.
The 260-strong ship’s company have faced “repeated” faults during the voyage, with the warship battling through gales and 20ft high waves. Despite the challenges, a source told The Sun these were simply “niggles” that were normal when a warship sails shortly after a maintenance period.
HMS Dragon is heading to Cyprus after the RAF Akrotiri base was hit by a kamikaze drone. The autonomous system, believed to have been fired from a pro-Iranian militia in western Iraq or Lebanon, struck one of the hangars. Various warships from European nations, including France and the Netherlands, have already made it to the eastern Mediterranean.
The war in Iran, started on February 28 following widespread US-Israeli strikes, has failed to slow down and retaliatory attacks have plunged the Middle East into chaos. The Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded by Tehran, with mines being laid in the strategic waterway and merchant ships being struck by missiles and drones.
Iran lashed out after the killing of one of its top leaders in an airstrike, using ballistic missiles to evade air defences and kill two people near Tel Aviv. The chief of the country’s national security council, Ali Larijani, was killed in the assault. He was regarded as one of the country’s most powerful figures.
Israel kept up intense pressure on Lebanon with strikes it said targeted Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, hitting multiple apartment buildings in Beirut and killing at least six people. The Bushehr nuclear power plant complex was hit by a projectile but there were no injuries and the plant suffered no damage, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
New attacks were reported in multiple Gulf countries this morning (March 18), including Saudi Arabia’s vast Eastern Province - home to many of its oil fields - Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Missile alerts sounded again later in Dubai as the sound of interceptors exploding overhead boomed across the city-state. Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile targeting the area of the Prince Sultan air base, which hosts American forces and aircraft, and a drone targeting Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter, which houses the US embassy and other foreign missions.
US Central Command said the US military fired multiple 5,000lb deep penetrator bombs Tuesday on Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the strait. As reported by Al Jazeera, preliminary figures show the death toll has reached 1,444 in Iran, 15 in Israel, and 20 in Gulf states. A total of 13 US soldiers have died.