HMS Dragon has finally left Portsmouth and has started its journey towards the eastern Mediterranean to defend RAF Akrotiri.
The airbase was targeted by an Iranian-made drone on the second day of the Iran war - but the Type 45 Destroyer was unable to be deployed until today.
As it left with more than 200 crew, the British warship, loaded with ammunition, could be seen being pulled along by tug boats through the harbour.
Around 100 people could be spotted waving their loved ones off from the dock.
The Government has come under fire for the amount of time it has taken to send off HMS Dragon after it took longer than a week for the vessel to be readied for deployment.
But, on Monday, Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs crews had been working "tirelessly, 22 hours a day" to deploy the warship within the next 48 hours.
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