JAKARTA - The British government is ready to deploy warships, unmanned mine-sweeping vessels, and fighter jets as part of a mission to ensure the smooth sailing of the Strait of Hormuz, according to a statement from the British Ministry of Defense.
The ministry said Britain and France jointly hosted a meeting of defense ministers (menhan) from at least 40 countries to discuss the mission of reopening the waterway.
"Britain will deploy autonomous mine-hunting equipment and an advanced anti-drone system, along with Typhoon jets and HMS Dragon, as part of a future defense mission to secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," the British Ministry of Defense said, as reported by Sputnik, Wednesday, May 13.
The British government also announced a budget allocation of 115 million pounds sterling (about Rp2.7 trillion) for the procurement of unmanned aerial vehicle equipment.
Specifically, the funding includes the deployment of the Kraken unmanned ship under the Beehive modular system.
On the one hand, Britain is modernizing the RFA Lyme Bay ship so that it can serve as a drone launch platform.
On the other hand, the destroyer HMS Dragon, which has been equipped with an anti-drone system, is reported to have set sail for the Middle East last week to strengthen defenses in the region.
Escalation of the conflict around Iran has led to an effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is the main route for global supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas from the Persian Gulf. This also affects oil exports and production levels.
The blockade has led to rising fuel and industrial product prices in most countries in the world.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
