The Iranian-made Shahed drone which hit Cyprus’ British Akrotiri air force base last Monday contained Russian technology, according to reports on Sunday.

British newspaper The Times reported that the drone contained “a Russian-made Kometa-B navigation system”, and that this navigation system had first been seen in Russian drones intercepted by Ukrainian air defences in December last year.

It also reported that recovered components from the drone have now been sent to a laboratory in the United Kingdom “for further investigation”.

The Kometa-B system was developed with the aim of protecting Russian drones from jamming technology, effectively offering a safeguard against Ukrainian-built jamming systems and ensuring that the drones hit their intended targets.

The discovery of the Russian navigation system is, according to the newspaper, “the first evidence that Russian military equipment is being used in the conflict”, and comes after the UK’s chief of defence staff Sir Richard Knighton said there is “no doubt” that Russia had been passing intelligence to Iran during the conflict.

“This is an axis we need to call out. The cooperation between Iran and Russia makes their forces more capable and more dangerous, and that’s why we need to be ready,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russian ambassador in London Andrei Kelin said that his country is “not neutral” in the conflict, and that it is “supportive to Iran”.

Since last Monday’s drone strike, the UK has sought to bolster its defence of its bases on the island, and has to this end sent two AW159 Wildcat helicopters, armed with anti-drone missiles, to Cyprus, while the HMS Dragon Type 45 destroyer warship also expected to depart from Portsmouth within the coming days.

On Thursday night, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also confirmed that Cyprus, and more specifically Akrotiri, has been used as the launchpad for missions aimed at engaging and shooting down drones fired from Iran.

Those operations are being led by F-35 fighter jets, which have been stationed in Cyprus since last month.

With the amount of military hardware on the island and in its vicinity increasing, Starmer had also said that “I want to be really clear to everybody in Cyprus that we’re taking every measure that is needed to protect them, to protect the airbase, along with the other places in the region”.

Then, on Sunday morning, the BBC reported that the UK is considering sending an aircraft carrier in the island’s direction, quoting “defence sources” as having said that the crew of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has been given notice that the ship must set sail from Portsmouth in five days.

In addition to military hardware, the UK also sent its Defence Secretary John Healey to the island. He held a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Vasilis Palmas, before promising that “top experts” had arrived on the island “to help coordinate the air defences”.