Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon has seized and destroyed ten tonnes of drugs worth more than £75m in one of the most significant drugs busts in the Gulf this year. In a highly fruitful 48-hour window, the Type 45 destroyer – which will remain on operations in the Gulf throughout the Christmas period – intercepted two boats carrying the huge haul of illicit drugs on notorious … [Read more...]
Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon seizes tonnes of hashish in major Gulf drugs bust
Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon has seized three tonnes of hashish in one of the most significant drugs busts in the Gulf this year, dealing a major blow to the funding of terrorism. The Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer was on patrol in the Middle East when they came across a suspicious dhow – a type of vessel common to the Middle East – in a notorious drug smuggling route … [Read more...]
Anglo-French naval force storms Biscay coast in major workout
The full panoply of Anglo-French amphibious striking power is being unleashed against France’s Atlantic coast as the two nations prepare to form a combined task group. More than 2,000 military personnel from both sides of the Channel – including destroyer HMS Dragon, amphibious ship RFA Lyme Bay, minehunter HMS Chiddingfold, Royal Marines from 45 Commando, raiding craft from … [Read more...]
Royal Navy hosts international military students
The Royal Navy in Plymouth was the centre of attention as 270 international students from the UK’s military leadership college had an insight into the professionalism of the senior service. A two-day dynamic demonstration of the Royal Navy’s capability was staged off the South West coast by warships HMS Dragon (Portsmouth destroyer), HMS Sutherland (Plymouth frigate), HMS … [Read more...]
Warship hunts Submarine in Eastern Mediterranean
Anti-submarine warfare may not be the usual forte for a destroyer – an air defence warship – but HMS Dragon snapped up the chance to work alongside nuclear submarine HMS Talent. As both were working in the Eastern Mediterranean at the same time, the units practised advanced underwater training with HMS Dragon tasked with hunting Talent down. The Devonport-based submarine … [Read more...]
Royal Navy Lynx lights up Mediterranean sunset
As HMS Dragon patrols the Eastern Mediterranean her Lynx helicopter breathes fire into the sunset sky with a stunning array of decoy flares. This powerful image of Royal Naval capability – both sea and air – was captured by Leading Photographer David Jenkins, the current Royal Navy Photographer of the year. One of the Navy’s newest Type 45 destroyers, HMS Dragon has arrived … [Read more...]
Extra wings for HMS Dragon on Gulf mission
FOR the first time one of the Royal Navy’s new Type 45 destroyers has used two helicopters on front-line operations. HMS Dragon doubled her effectiveness for two months flying not the usual one, but two Lynx helicopters from her flight deck. The destroyer, on her maiden deployment, left Portsmouth in March with one onboard from 815 Naval Air Squadron aboard. But she also … [Read more...]
Black Duke relinquishes gulf patrol duties to Dragon
Plymouth-based warship HMS Monmouth is on her way home after handing over her Gulf Patrol duties to HMS Dragon in typical naval fashion. The two Welsh-affiliated warships, Type 23 frigate HMS Monmouth and Type 45 Destroyer HMS Dragon, met up in the warm waters of the Gulf of Aden to conduct a formal handover of Maritime Security Patrol responsibilities for the Gulf region, the … [Read more...]