Fury as Royal Navy forced to borrow a frigate from Germany

An aerial view shows HMS Dragon, a Royal Navy Type 45 Daring-class air-defence destroyer (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The Royal Navy has been forced to borrow a frigate from Germany to take over as the flagship of a Nato mission in the North Atlantic after being left unable to meet its own commitments, it has emerged. Britain has been forced to rely on a German warship to fulfil its obligations to the alliance after Sir Keir Starmer ordered HMS Dragon, one of the UK’s six Type 45 destroyers, to the eastern Mediterranean.

The decision has triggered a wave of anger, with critics accusing the Government of leaving the Royal Navy so depleted 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 a British RAF base on the island. The move has left the UK with just two operational Type 45 destroyers, as three others — HMS Daring, Diamond and Defender — are undergoing long-planned engine upgrades to fix persistent propulsion problems that have plagued the class.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)

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-Jecty said the episode showed the Royal Navy had “officially run out of ships”, reported The Telegraph.

Mr Obese-Jecty added: “The Government’s inability to manage the Royal Navy surface fleet has become a national embarrassment, with Germany now bailing us out.”

Labour chairman of the House of Commons defence committee Tan Dhesi admitted the reliance on a German vessel “underscores the defence committee’s concerns regarding the UK’s lack of mass and capabilities”.

The episode has also exposed the strain on Britain’s Armed Forces, laid bare by the ongoing conflict involving Israel, the United States and Iran.

Conor Wilson reports from the Nordic Defence Conference

Sir Keir Starmer has faced heavy criticism for what many see as a sluggish response to the crisis in the Middle East. The UK initially failed to send any warships to Cyprus in the immediate aftermath of the attack on the RAF base.

It was only after France rerouted its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and its strike group to the eastern Mediterranean that Downing Street announced HMS Dragon would be deployed. The destroyer finally arrived off Cyprus on Monday — three weeks after the Iranian drone strike.

Germany itself has faced domestic criticism for the parlous state of its own navy, which is currently the smallest in its post-war history. Berlin has been so short of trained personnel in recent months that it has had to draft in air force crew from the Luftwaffe to meet its NATO commitments.

The humiliation comes as Sir Keir continues to come under fire for his handling of defence policy. This week he refused to set out a clear timeline for reaching his pledge to increase defence spending to 3 % of GDP.

The Government has said it will raise spending to 2.5 % by next year, with a further increase to 3.5 % by 2035 if Labour wins the next general election. However, the Prime Minister has so far declined to commit to an interim target of 3 %.

Ministers have also been accused of dithering over the long-delayed defence investment plan, which is supposed to set out Britain’s spending priorities for the Armed Forces over the next decade.

The blueprint was originally due to be published in the autumn, but disagreements between the Treasury and the Ministry of Defence remain unresolved. There are growing claims that the military budget faces a £28 billion funding gap over the next four years.

The episode is the latest illustration of the pressure on the Royal Navy, which has been forced to stretch a shrinking fleet across multiple global commitments while grappling with decades of underinvestment and procurement failures.

Senior defence sources have warned privately that the service is struggling to meet even its core Nato responsibilities without compromising other operations.

The decision to accept German assistance is likely to fuel further questions about the state of Britain’s defences at a time of heightened international tension.

Express.co.uk has approached the MoD for comment.