RAF fighter jets will be deployed to Saudi Arabia to protect cities and critical infrastructure from attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the Typhoons will be joined by an Atlas A400M transport aircraft and military advisers as part of its support for the Kingdom.
The move follows an agreement in September to send an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft to assist Saudi defensive operations in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
However, the deployment of fighter jets now means British pilots will directly counter attacks from the Iran-backed rebels, potentially putting them in harms way.
Announcing the deployment in a written statement to Parliament, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said: “RAF Typhoon aircraft will conduct defensive counter-air operations over Saudi Arabia, helping to protect Saudi cities, civilian populations and critical national infrastructure from Houthi attacks.
“These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis.
“We unequivocally condemn Houthi attacks and fully support the right of Saudi Arabia and the legitimate government of the Republic of Yemen to defend themselves.”
The Defence Secretary stressed that the UK “cannot allow international shipping to be threatened or held to ransom” by the rebels.
Houthi fighters have launched attacks on ships attempting to transit through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Mr Streeting stressed that the Typhoons and transport aircraft will help “create the conditions for a political resolution to the conflict”.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously condemned the Houthi campaign, denouncing the “appalling attacks” on King Khalid International Airport earlier this month.
Addressing the Commons, he pledged that Britain would “continue to stand with Saudi Arabia” against the Iran-backed group.
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Previously, Mr Streeting declared that Britain “unequivocally condemns the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia”.
He insisted that both Saudi Arabia and Yemen had the right to defend themselves.
The Defence Secretary said protecting regional stability, vital trade routes, and energy supplies was in the UK’s national interest, while stressing the need for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Yemen.
The Houthis killed 12 people and injured more than 300 in the attack on King Khalid International Airport, the deadliest attack in a Gulf Arab country since the Iran war began.
Saudi Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that the dead included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, and one person each from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.
Over the summer, the Houthis advanced into the Red Sea coastline in a lightning offensive that gave the group control over the Bab el-Mandeb, a chokepoint for international trade.
A Saudi-led coalition formed in 2015 after Arab countries joined forces to stop the Houthis from taking over Yemen.
In 2022, a temporary ceasefire was brokered after years of air strikes and ground fighting resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
But military action resumed in July as the informal truce degraded.
The Houthis have long disapproved of restrictions on airspace enforced by Saudi Arabia and soon announced a new “blockade for blockade” policy, declaring an embargo on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
The route has grown in importance since the Iran war broke out, as it lets the kingdom export oil and avoid the heavily disrupted Strait of Hormuz.
Last weekend, a full-blown war broke out as the Saudi-backed Yemeni government announced a new military campaign against the Houthis.
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