Overview
- MoD officials are assessing whether Octopus interceptor drones, reported to be effective against Shahed threats, could be sent to bolster protection of British assets in the region.
- Octopus units are being manufactured in Britain for Ukraine with production reported to be scaling toward thousands per month at an estimated cost of about £2,260 each.
- Ministers are considering sending a Royal Navy vessel to the Gulf, though no decision has been made as President Donald Trump publicly urged the UK to contribute ships to the Strait of Hormuz.
- HMS Dragon was ordered to Cyprus after the Akrotiri strike and is expected to reach the eastern Mediterranean as early as next week following rearming in Portsmouth.
- Recent strikes on RAF Akrotiri and British forces in Erbil, plus an earlier fatal attack on US troops in Kuwait, have intensified concern as a defence source linked the threat to a Russia–Iran 'axis of aggression'.