PA Media Royal Navy ship HMS Dragon will be in the Middle East ready for any mission, the MoD said The UK has said it will contribute drones, fighter jets and a warship to a joint mission aimed at safeguarding shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Defence minister John Healey announced the package at a virtual summit of defence ministers on Tuesday. It includes autonomous systems to detect and clear naval mines, drone boats and Typhoon jets for air patrols. More than 40 other nations are involved in the mission, which Healey said would begin when conditions allow. For months Iran has been controlling the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's busiest oil shipping channels - in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks. The US, for its part, has been enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports to exert pressure on Tehran to agree to its terms - a move that has infuriated Iran. Some 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas uses the crucial waterway, whose blockage has sent prices soaring globally.…