20/10/2026
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20/10/2026
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LONDON, Oct 20: The United Kingdom will deploy Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia to help protect its cities, civilian population and critical infrastructure against escalating missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement, the British government announced Tuesday.
The deployment marks an expansion of British military support for Saudi Arabia. The UK Ministry of Defence said the fighter jets would conduct defensive counter-air missions to protect Saudi airspace but would not carry out offensive strikes against the Houthis.
Under the new measures, Britain will also deploy an RAF A400M Atlas transport aircraft to facilitate the movement of military equipment within Saudi Arabia. British military advisers will assist Saudi staff officers, while London will extend its existing air-to-air refuelling support for Saudi defensive air operations.
The refuelling support will also cover Saudi operations aimed at degrading Houthi military targets in Yemen that threaten Saudi and Yemeni people, according to the British government.
British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting condemned the continuing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, describing them as “absolutely despicable.”
“The targeting of the airport in Riyadh in particular shows the lengths the Houthis are going to escalate the situation in the region,” Streeting said.
He added that the deployment would build on British military equipment and personnel already stationed in Saudi Arabia to help defend against missile and drone attacks.
The announcement comes amid renewed fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia. Houthi missile and drone attacks have increasingly targeted Saudi territory, including Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, raising concerns about the widening regional conflict.
The British government warned that the escalating violence could have consequences beyond the region, including higher living costs in the UK, disruptions to energy supplies and increased expenses for British businesses.
London said preventing further regional destabilisation was in its national economic and security interests, while reiterating its condemnation of attacks on civilian targets and its support for Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself.
