Konstantinos Letymbiotis confirmed they had been travelling in the direction of the British base at the time of interception. The Sovereign Base Areas Administration arranged a « temporary dispersal of non-essential personnel » from RAF Akrotiri as a result. As part of an update on Wednesday, the UK Ministry of Defence confirmed that RAF Typhoon and F-35B jets continued defensive air operations across the Middle East overnight, supported by Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft. The department revealed that a Shahed-like drone did target RAF Akrotiri at midnight on March 2, however said it was not launched from Iran.
The full statement read: « Overnight, RAF Typhoon and F-35B jets continued defensive air operations across the Middle East with support from Voyager air-to-air refuelling in defence of British interests and allies.
« The Ministry of Defence can confirm that a Shahed-like drone which targeted RAF Akrotiri at midnight on 2nd March was not launched from Iran.
« In the last 24 hours, the UK has resupplied air defence systems to British and allied bases across the region – including UK-built air defence missiles.
« Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters – armed with Martlet missiles capable of taking out aerial threats – will arrive in Cyprus in the coming days. »
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In the aftermath of the drone incident, families of British service personnel were relocated from Akrotiri as a precaution.
Defence Secretary John Healey had said the attack demonstrated the « dangerous and indiscriminate attacks » carried out by Iran and its proxies.
The Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for Cyprus, urging British nationals to take « sensible precautions » due to what it described as a « heightened risk of regional tensions ».
So far, the Ministry of Defence has not publicly confirmed where the drone was launched from.
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