The Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Dragon, arrived in Gibraltar this morning for a short visit which is expected to lead to another broadside from the British media over her "slow passage" to Cyprus where she is due to protect the island from Iranian drones including the large Royal Air Force base.
The type 45 destroyer left Portsmouth last Tuesday more than a week after being ordered to Cyprus by the British government. Then she spent two days training in the English Channel which led to a media broadside.
The Sun reported: "The warship ordered to Cyprus to defend British forces from drones spent three days bobbing about in the Channel, The Sun can reveal. Destroyer HMS Dragon only left UK waters yesterday (Friday) after setting sail from Portsmouth on Tuesday following a week-long delay for repairs."
This morning she appeared at Gibraltar which will delay her passage to Cyprus even further. Naval experts said that as NATO allies already have warships in Cyprus and the defences at the Royal Air Force base in Cyprus have been increased, there is no real hurry. But others may think differently.
The HMS Dragon incident has underlined how badly equipped the Royal Navy is as a result of decades of defence cuts. However, some may say that the alleged lack of urgency by the Royal Navy is only making the matter more pronouced.