The ammunition tells the story. British special forces at their Erbil base in northern Iraq have reportedly been firing at Iranian drones with such frequency that resupply flights became necessary — and overnight the base was hit again, with two UAVs shot down but several more getting through.

Brigadier Guy Foden, speaking from Britain's Permanent Joint Headquarters, made clear the situation on the ground was unrelenting. "We have personnel in Erbil who are currently helping with the defence of that base," he said. "Last night they shot down two UAVs coming at the camp, but a number of UAVs did impact on the camp."

Defence Secretary John Healey put the intensity of operations in stark terms, saying the troops had been in "pretty continuous" action from the moment the conflict began.

Lieutenant General Nick Perry confirmed resupply had already taken place, saying fresh missiles were delivered last week and that stocks were now "up to a reasonable" level. The base is protected by RAF Regiment personnel operating Rapid Sentry launchers armed with Martlet LMM missiles capable of reaching targets up to eight kilometres away.

Russia's fingerprints

The most significant revelation of the day, according to a report by the Sun, came from Lieutenant General Perry, who told Healey there was a "definitive link" between Moscow and the effectiveness of Iran's drone campaign. The former SAS commander said Tehran had been studying and adopting Russian techniques to make its unmanned strikes lower, faster and harder to bring down.

"We have seen, definitely, the Iranian tactics of the use of their drones has learnt from the Russians," Perry said. "They are flying them much lower and therefore they are more effective." His assessment was blunt about where the greatest danger lay: "It is the drones that are causing the biggest problem for our allies across the region."

Healey said the Kremlin's involvement was entirely predictable. "The only world leader benefitting from sky high oil prices at the moment is Putin," he said, adding that the revenue was giving Russia "a fresh supply of funds for his brutal war in Ukraine." He said "Putin's hidden hand" behind the Iranian strikes should surprise nobody.

Akrotiri investigation

Healey disclosed that the Shahed drone that struck RAF Akrotiri last week — hitting a hangar connected to the CIA's Olive Harvest spy plane programme and housing U-2 Dragon Lady aircraft — was now being physically dismantled by military investigators hunting for Russian-made components. He said the weapon had been "fired from Lebanon or potentially Iraq."

"We are taking apart and analysing the drone that hit the hangar for any evidence of Russian or other foreign components or parts," he said. "We will publish any findings from that when we have got them."

President Macron of France confirmed on Friday that one French soldier had been killed and several others injured during a drone attack on a joint base in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Fleet and evacuation planning

HMS Dragon was already cutting through the eastern Mediterranean en route to strengthen British defences against further drone attack. On whether more vessels would follow to patrol or demine the Strait of Hormuz, Healey reportedly declined to be drawn, saying only that he was "discussing additional options with our planners." He also confirmed he was drawing up contingency plans for potential mass evacuations from across the region.

British combat jets flew patrols overnight above Jordan, Qatar and the UAE, with ground forces stationed across Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Army, Royal Navy and RAF personnel are all contributing to the defence of Cyprus under Operation Luminous.

Perry offered a carefully calibrated update on British casualties. "All our people remain safe, touch wood, but the Americans took some casualties last night, but nothing too serious," he said.