UK deploying Rapid Sentry air defence system to Kuwait, PM’s office says

UK is deploying its ‌Rapid Sentry air defence system to Kuwait to help protect British and Kuwaiti interests in the Gulf, Prime ​Minister Keir Starmer’s office said on Friday, ​after an overnight Iranian drone attack on a ⁠Kuwaiti oil facility.

Starmer discussed the deployment in a ​call with Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah ​on Friday morning, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

Read Also: UK to host talks with 35 countries on reopening Strait of Hormuz

“The Prime Minister began by condemning the reckless overnight drone attack on ​a Kuwaiti oil refinery,” the spokesperson said. “He reiterated ​that the UK stands with Kuwait and all our allies ‌in ⁠the Gulf.”

The spokesperson said the leaders discussed the deployment of the UK’s air defence system – designed primarily to shoot down drones and other low-flying ​aerial threats – ​to Kuwait, ⁠which would protect Kuwaiti and UK personnel and interests in the region, while ​avoiding escalation into a wider conflict.

Starmer ​and ⁠the crown prince also discussed disruption to global shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and welcomed a meeting chaired ⁠by ​UK foreign minister Yvette Cooper ​on Thursday to draw up a plan to reopen the ​vital shipping route.