The Royal Navy has been forced to borrow a frigate from Germany to take over as head of NATO’s mission in the North Atlantic after being unable to meet its commitments, it has emerged. Britain has been forced to rely on German warships to meet its obligations to the alliance as Sir Keir Starmer ordered HMS Dragon, one of the UK’s six Type 45 destroyers, to the eastern Mediterranean.
The decision has sparked anger, with critics accusing the government of weakening the Royal Navy so much that it has had to turn to Berlin for help, in what one senior MP described as a “national embarrassment”. HMS Dragon was deployed to help defend Cyprus following a drone attack by Iran on the British RAF base on the island. The move leaves only two operational Type 45 destroyers in the UK, while three others – HMS Daring, Diamond and Defender – are undergoing long-planned engine upgrades to fix the persistent propulsion problems that have plagued the class.
In a humiliating development for a country that once boasted the world’s most powerful navy, the German frigate Sachsen will now replace HMS Dragon as the flagship of the NATO mission.
Tory MP Ben Obese-Jeckty said the episode showed the Royal Navy had “officially run out of ships”, according to the report. Wire.
Mr Obese-Jekty said: “The government’s inability to manage the Royal Navy surface fleet has become a national embarrassment, Germany is now bailing us out of it.”
Tan Dhesi, Labor chairman of the House of Commons defense committee, acknowledged that the reliance on the German vessel “underlines the Defense Committee’s concerns regarding the UK’s lack of mass and capabilities”.
The episode has also highlighted the strain on Britain’s armed forces, exposed by ongoing conflicts with Israel, the United States and Iran.
Sir Keir Starmer has faced heavy criticism for what he sees as a lax response to the crisis in the Middle East. Britain initially failed to send any warships to Cyprus immediately after the attack on the RAF base.
Only after France moved its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and her strike group to the eastern Mediterranean did Downing Street announce that HMS Dragon would be deployed. The destroyer finally reached Cyprus on Monday, three weeks after the Iranian drone attack.
Germany itself has faced domestic criticism for the poor state of its navy, which is currently the smallest in its post-war history. In recent months Berlin has become so short of trained personnel that it has had to call in aircrew from the Luftwaffe to meet its NATO commitments.
The humiliation comes as Sir Keir continues to face criticism over his handling of defense policy. This week he refused to set any clear timeline for reaching his pledge to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP.
The government has said that if Labor wins the next general election it will increase spending to 2.5% by next year, and to 3.5% by 2035. However, the Prime Minister has so far refused to commit to the interim target of 3%.
Ministers have also been accused of dilly-dallying over the long-delayed Defense Investment Plan, which is supposed to set Britain’s spending priorities for the armed forces over the next decade.
The blueprint was originally due to be published in the autumn, but differences between the Treasury and the Ministry of Defense remain unresolved. There are growing claims that the military budget faces a funding gap of £28 billion over the next four years.
The episode is the latest example of the pressure on the Royal Navy, which has been forced to stretch a shrinking fleet under multiple global commitments while battling decades of underinvestment and procurement failures.
Senior defense sources have warned privately that the service is also struggling to meet its core NATO responsibilities without compromising other missions.
The decision to accept German aid is likely to raise further questions about the state of Britain’s security at a time of international tension.
Express.co.uk has contacted the Ministry of Defense for comment.
