The Royal Navy warship HMS Dragon finally set sail for Cyprus last night, a week after she was ordered to be made ready for sea. 

She may well arrive next week and find the war has passed the Type 45 air defence destroyer and her crew by as they raced south from Portsmouth.

What she will definitely find is a French-led carrier strike group already near the island, ready to protect it from Iranian missile attacks. 

The carrier Charles de Gaulle and an allied armada of ships: French, Italian, Spanish and Greek, will have been there for days, allowing French president Emmanuel Macron to rub British noses in the dirt.

Earlier this week he insisted Cyprus can ‘count on France’ as he rubbed salt in the wound of Britain’s military embarrassment.

The French president swiped at the UK’s difficulties defending the crucial RAF Akrotiri base from Iranian reprisals as he visited the island.

And he went further, announcing that France will send further warships to the Red Sea and Straits of Hormuz to join US efforts to guarantee oil tankers can get through. 

In all he suggested a dozen ship could be deployed, 

While this is a fraction of the surface power of the world’s largest naval power, the US Navy, it is more than the Royal Navy can currently manage. 

Apart from Dragon, only one other ship, landing ship RFA Lyme Bay, is being made ready and that is in case it is needed to help evacuate expat Brits in the Gulf rather than for any combat requirement.

A new YouGov poll last night showed that more than half (56 per cent) of voters think the government is handling defence badly, up 11 points in a week.

A glossy video posted on social media by Mr Macron shows him posing with forces personnel and a variety of impressive military hardware including the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier. 

It features people singing national anthem La Marseillaise and dramatic classical music, as Mr Macron comments: ‘Your presence demonstrates the power of France.’ 

Paris has taken the opportunity to put on a display of power as the UK struggles to mobilise even a single warship to protect Cyprus.

He was hugged by his Cypriot counterpart on the tarmac after his presidential plane taxied to a halt at Paphos airport. 

On paper there appears to be a major mismatch between the Royal Navy’s 63 vessels and the Marine Nationale’s 133, although the reality is a bit more complicated.

Included in the French total are more than 50 support ships. Its coastguard is also part of the force.

In terms of major warships it has one aircraft carrier, two helicopter carriers, 17 destroyers and frigates and nine submarines, plus an array of smaller patrol vessels and minesweepers.

The Royal Navy has two aircraft carriers, two assault ships, 13 destroyers and frigates and nine submarines, and likewise additional smaller ships.

And there is also a little French ‘ruse de guerre’ at play, with some of the ships in the Middle East already as part of long-term deployments, including against Houthi prates off Yemen.

The main difference is the French ability to use their ships properly.  There are serious questions as to how much of the Royal Navy fleet is in a position to put to sea with any sort of immediacy.

Only three of the six Type 45 destroyers are currently operational, with the others undergoing major refit work.

The lead ship of the class, HMS Daring, has not been operational since 2017, initially going in for engine replacement work and then being cannibalised for spare parts to keep the other five going.

Most of the ageing Type 23 frigates are also tied up, with replacement Type 25 and 31 frigates not expected to start entering service until later this decade and well into the next.

Britain also has five Astute class attack submarines, but only one is overseas – in Australia.

Last night, Parliament’s Defence Committee has raised concerns over the Royal Navy’s capacity to respond to the Iran crisis.

The committee said that after a secret briefing on Middle East operations from senior civilian and military officials from the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday morning, its members were ‘left satisfied that the UK’s decision making and preparedness measures in place ahead of the recent military activity were grounded in a coherent logic’.

But their statement continued: ‘We note, however, the considerable gap between some of the political rhetoric circulating internationally, and the reality of the UK’s support to the United States and regional partners.

‘The situation has also underlined longstanding and grave concerns – which we share – about whether the Royal Navy has sufficient capacity and resilience to respond effectively to a crisis at a time of worsening global security.

‘We therefore call upon the Government to urgently release the Defence Investment Plan and take steps to increase spending on defence to 3 per cent of GDP during this Parliament.’ 

The Defence Secretary praised the Royal Navy’s ‘remarkable effort’ to prepare HMS Dragon for deployment over the past week.

John Healey said: ‘I have only praise for our Royal Navy personnel and civilian teams who have worked flat out to prepare HMS Dragon for deployment to the eastern Mediterranean.

‘What is normally six weeks of work was completed in just six days – a remarkable effort delivered around the clock. They are the very best of Britain in action.’

HMS Dragon’s commanding officer, Commander Iain Griffin, said: ‘My ship’s company have worked tirelessly to ensure we are ready for our mission to the eastern Mediterranean.

‘I am proud of the professional manner in which they have responded. We are trained for this, we are ready for this, we have the equipment and people, we have the support of the British people and, most importantly, our families and friends.’