British military commanders had been preparing for a massive Iranian attack on Israel for weeks. Foreign Secretary David Lammy had told his Israeli counterparts that the UK would help defend Tel Aviv.

However, despite Israel’s requests, the British were unwilling to contribute to any retaliation, according to The Times.

But how could the British help Israel during the attack? Not very much, it turns out.

The British sent fighter jets from Cyprus. But these were Typhoons, which are best suited to attacking targets on the ground. They can shoot down drones but have no chance when it comes to ballistic missiles.

Several hours after the Iranian attack, Defence Secretary John Healey was content to say that British forces were “playing their part in trying to prevent further escalation in the Middle East”. But the Iranian attack was the escalation itself, and Israel must retaliate.

The UK Ministry of Defence has refused to say what role they played, leading to widespread speculation.

The Royal Navy has six Type 45 destroyers capable of destroying ballistic missiles and one of these, HMS Duncan, was in the area. But their mission was to evacuate British citizens from Lebanon, in conjunction with more than 1,000 Royal Marines stationed in Cyprus, so they did not contribute to the defence of Israel.

Should the war develop into a full regional conflict, the UK may choose to contribute to the defence of Israel using HMS Duncan with Sea Viper missiles, Phalanx machine guns – capable of firing more than 3,000 rounds per minute – and 30mm cannons.

British special forces are probably already inside Lebanon, according to The Times. If so, they are most likely soldiers from the feared and respected SAS (Special Air Service) regiment or possibly their colleagues SBS (Special Boat Service). This is a specialised department that is considered to be among the absolute best in the world, perhaps only surpassed by the American Delta Force (scholars disagree).

What if London was attacked in the same way?

Questions have also been raised about how vulnerable the UK itself is when it comes to similar missile attacks.

Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, told the BBC that the UK would not have been able to “cope” with an attack similar to the one on Tuesday night, had it been directed at the country’s own cities.

“I don’t think the UK would have coped with 182 missiles aimed directly at London, Manchester, Birmingham, at their biggest cities. This is what happened yesterday,” she said.

A defence source told The Times that the British had “nothing” to defend mainland Britain against ballistic missile threats. They said the Type 45 fighters were not able to cover the whole of the UK because there “weren’t enough of them”.

A Iron Dome system similar to Israel’s has previously been deemed unaffordable due to its high cost.

If the UK’s defence situation is as bad as the Times portrays it, it’s an open question what the situation is in Germany, Spain and the Nordic countries in the NATO alliance.