British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Thursday that the United Kingdom will deploy four more fighter jets to Qatar and send Wildcat helicopters with anti-drone capabilities to Cyprus, reinforcing the country’s military presence in the Middle East amid the ongoing Iran war.
The four Typhoon jets will join an existing UK squadron in Qatar to “strengthen our defensive operations in Qatar and across the region,” Starmer told reporters. The move comes as tensions in the region have escalated following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which began on Saturday. UK Typhoon and F-35B jets have been operating in the Middle East since the conflict started.
Two Wildcat helicopters, equipped with Martlet missiles capable of downing drones, are scheduled to arrive in Cyprus on Friday, Starmer confirmed. He said the helicopters are being deployed as part of Britain’s “defensive operations” in the region. Starmer had announced their deployment on Tuesday, emphasizing that the UK is enhancing air defences to protect personnel and key installations.
The announcement followed a drone strike on a Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri in Cyprus on Monday. An Iranian-made unmanned drone struck a hangar at the base, while two additional drones detected that day were shot down by British warplanes. No casualties were reported, and families of service personnel have been moved from the base as a precaution.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey visited Cyprus this week to assess the situation and coordinate the response. “The UK is further reinforcing our air defences to support our shared security,” Healey said in a post on X. The visit came after Cypriot authorities expressed disappointment over Britain’s communication with residents following the attacks. Cyprus’s High Commissioner to the UK, Kyriacos Kouros, told BBC Newsnight that locals were “scared” and expected more information.
Starmer has also deployed HMS Dragon, a Type 45 air defence destroyer capable of launching eight missiles in under 10 seconds and guiding up to 16 simultaneously. The vessel is not expected to set sail until next week. Critics, including the opposition Conservative Party, have accused Starmer of acting too slowly, but the prime minister insisted that fighter jets, air defence missiles, and advanced radar systems have been moved to the region throughout January and February.
While initially refusing direct involvement in the conflict, Starmer later agreed to a US request to use two British military bases — in Gloucestershire and the UK-US Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean — for “specific and limited defensive purposes.” He stressed that the Akrotiri base in Cyprus is not being used by US jets.
The UK government maintains that the additional deployments aim to strengthen defensive capabilities and protect personnel in the region as the Iran war continues.
