Royal Navy destroyer HMS Dragon in Portsmouth, Britain, March 10, 2026. CHRIS SELLARS/UK MOD CROWN VIA REUTERS
The UK will send a destroyer to the Middle East ahead of an international mission to help protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, its defense ministry said Saturday, May 9. "The pre-positioning of HMS Dragon is part of prudent planning that will ensure that the UK is ready, as part of a multinational coalition jointly led by the UK and France, to secure the strait, when conditions allow," a ministry spokesperson told Agence France-Presse.
Britain and France said last month that military plans to secure the Strait of Hormuz were coming together and would succeed in restoring trade flows through the vital passage.
The MoD said deploying HMS Dragon would strengthen the confidence of commercial shipping and support mine clearance efforts once hostilities end.
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