HMS Dragon went from dry dock to deployment in a week

HMS Dragon returned to Portsmouth after a 214-day deployment that began with a seven-day transition from dry dock to operational tasking in the eastern Mediterranean. The Type 45 destroyer helped protect British bases in Cyprus against drone and missile attacks alongside Army and Royal Air Force capabilities. It subsequently deployed east of Suez to support air defense for a proposed mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, transited the Bab el Mandeb and conducted Indian Ocean maritime-security patrols. Dragon also operated with the French carrier strike group led by Charles de Gaulle before completing the deployment.