London, August 29 (RHC)-- The British Royal Navy destroyer HMS Daring is slated to join a fleet of U.S. warships stationed in the Persian Gulf, UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon says. The Type 45 destroyer will arrive in the region on Friday and take on the role of HMS Defender, another warship of the same class which provided air support to American aircraft carriers there, Fallon said on Sunday.
The American warships have been conducting attacks on purported Daesh (ISIL) positions inside Syria and Iraq for several months now. Fallon said that all three branches of the British armed forces have been engaged in the attacks.
The UK defense secretary said that “RAF aircraft are hitting the terrorists daily on the ground; the Army is providing counter-explosives training to Iraqi troops; and the Royal Navy helps protect coalition carriers in the Gulf as they launch strikes.”
London announced in late July that it will send 250 more troops to the Arab country, raising the total number of British troops to more than 500. The UK’s involvement in the U.S.-led campaign against militants in Iraq and Syria stirred controversy after British Special Forces were spotted fighting alongside anti-government militants in Syria.
HMS Daring’s deployment to the Persian Gulf is expected to spark controversy amid substantiated reports that the ship is not capable of coping with the warm waters. In fact, the UK navy’s fleet of six Type 45 destroyers is prone to shutdowns in the harsh environment, despite being viewed as the force’s most modern warships.
