UK Approves Air-to-Air Refueling Support for Saudi Arabia Against Houthi Attacks

22/09/2026

UK Approves Air-to-Air Refueling Support for Saudi Arabia Against Houthi Attacks

LONDON: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday that he had approved a Saudi request for limited defensive air-to-air refueling support following intensified attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

“We have received a request from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for military support, and on the advice of the defence secretary and the foreign secretary, last night I agreed to that request for defensive air-to-air refuelling,” Burnham told reporters while traveling to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

He said the support was intended to help keep regional routes open as Saudi Arabia faced attacks.

Britain and Saudi Arabia are longstanding military partners. Earlier this year, Britain deployed its Sky Sabre air defense system to Saudi Arabia to help protect the kingdom from Iranian missile attacks during the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.