British Merlin helicopter deploys to Cyprus

A British Merlin Mk2 utility helicopter and an “engineering team” are to arrive in Cyprus on Tuesday, with the United Kingdom and multiple other countries continuing to bolster their military presence in and around the island after it was hit by an Iranian-made drone last week.

The UK’s Royal Navy said that the helicopter “provides a defence against aerial threats”, given that it can fly up to a mile high, and as such “look ‘over the horizon’” and offer “advance warning of incoming drones or missiles”.