Twice, the air raid sirens sounded around RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus this afternoon. We were rushed inside as soldiers lay on the floor in body armour. It was over quickly.
The British defence secretary, visiting the base at the time, was taken into “a windowless room” just before he was due to dial into a COBRA meeting.
The warning system at the base is quite unsophisticated, unable to be specific like the Israeli equivalent, and so the alarms are sounded out of caution, not necessarily because something is incoming, but it did underline the threat to the island, so close to Lebanon and the Iranian proxy Hezbollah which is believed to be responsible for the attacks.
One drone did get through the defences on Sunday. It flew undetected, low to the sea, and was described as “tiny”.
But it still managed to put a hole in a hangar normally used to house American U2 spy planes.
It probably wasn’t a lucky shot: the hangar, with two U2s parked outside, is clearly visible on Google maps.
The two US U2 spy planes seen on Google Maps satellite view sitting on the tarmac next to hangars at RAF Akrotiri. Pic: Google Maps
In my interview with John Healey I asked him when the option to deploy a Royal Navy destroyer first hit his desk. He suggested he’d had options for weeks. I pressed him to clarify it was his decision to delay then, and he didn’t disagree.
But afterwards, defence sources told me the Royal Navy only gave him the option on Tuesday.
Either way, whether military planners or the defence secretary himself, the plan came too late for the Cypriot government and people on the island.
The ship won’t depart until next week. A French frigate, the Languedoc, has already arrived off Cyprus. Based in Toulon, it was already much closer of course, but notably able to leave port immediately.
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Cyprus is being targeted because of the presence of British military, and they expect the UK to defend it accordingly.
Britain did take some precautions before the war with Iran started. Six F35 jets were sent to complement eight Typhoons permanently stationed in Cyprus.
Vehicles that are part of a convoy carrying British Defence Secretary John Healey. Pic: Reuters
Some of those F35s have been used to shoot down drones over Jordan in recent days.
Ground based, short range air defences have also been deployed and Wildcat helicopters, which have a capability to detect drones, are due to arrive in Cyprus over the weekend.
Senior military commanders argue that events have moved quickly, which they have, although the drumbeat to war was getting louder for weeks and Iran made no secret of its threat to attack widely across the region in response.
Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon at the Upper Harbour Ammunition Facility (UHAF) in Portsmouth harbour, Hampshire, ahead of being deployed to protect British military personnel in Cyprus. Pic: PA
Attacks on RAF Akrotiri, which houses US personnel and belongs to Britain, still historically one of Iran’s main enemies, should not have come as a surprise.
The British government originally denied the Americans access to use British bases for attacks on Iran because they didn’t agree with the legal basis for the war. It has now reversed that decision based on the theory that American strikes on Iranian missile batteries are helping defend the region, and thereby British interests, from Iranian attacks.
On those grounds, would Britain go further and join in with offensive attacks, I asked the defence secretary. Three times he refused to rule that out.
This story originally appeared on Skynews
