Britain will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against escalating Houthi missile and drone attacks, the UK government announced on Tuesday.
“The UK will fly defensive counter air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure against aerial attack, using RAF Typhoon fighter jets,” the Ministry of Defence said, Dawn reported, citing AFP. “These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis.”
The deployment was authorised by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the BBC reported.
What Britain is sending
- Typhoon jets: for defensive counter-air missions over Saudi cities and infrastructure
- Transport: an RAF A400M aircraft to move defence material within Saudi Arabia
- Advisers: UK military advisers to support Saudi staff officers
- Refuelling: Britain already provides air-to-air refuelling for Saudi defensive operations, now extended by 90 days
“The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable,” Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said. “The targeting of the airport in Riyadh in particular shows the lengths the Houthis are going to (to) escalate the situation in the region.” He also said violence in the Gulf was disrupting energy supplies and raising costs for families and businesses.
Riyadh under fire
Riyadh’s international airport has been targeted 20 times since the start of the month, AFP reported. The Houthis said they were behind two strikes on King Khalid International Airport on October 10 and 11, which left 14 people dead and more than 300 injured, according to the BBC.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia said it had again intercepted a missile aimed at the capital. The kingdom “intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi terrorist militia toward Riyadh”, spokesman Turki al-Malki said on X, Middle East Eye reported.
The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting its tankers and seizing parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coast vital for oil exports. Earlier this month, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree vowed to continue “escalating operations deep inside Saudi Arabia”.
A quarter of a million displaced
Inside Yemen, the human cost is mounting. “The numbers displaced have now reached over 250,000… these are people who have been internally displaced in Yemen between August 1 and October 17,” Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesman for the UN refugee agency UNHCR, told reporters in Geneva.
Yemen’s civil war, in which Saudi Arabia has led a coalition backing the government since 2015, reignited in September after a years-long truce collapsed. Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni government and the United States accuse Iran of backing the Houthis, which Tehran denies.
Why it matters
Britain joins a growing list of countries stepping in to protect Saudi Arabia, alongside Pakistan and Turkey under the Makkah defence pact. Every new missile on Riyadh raises the risk of a wider war, and pushes up energy costs worldwide. Read our reports on the text of the Makkah defence pact and on the Houthi strike on a Yemen training camp.
This article draws on reporting by Dawn, the BBC, AFP and Middle East Eye.
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