Britain will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets on defensive missions over Saudi Arabia, as intensifying Houthi missile and drone attacks threaten the kingdom's cities, critical infrastructure and energy supplies.
In a statement on Tuesday, October 20, the UK Ministry of Defence said that the aircraft will operate only in a defensive role and will not strike inside Yemen.
"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 (MoD) said in a statement.
"These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis."
Britain will also deploy an Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft to move defense materiel within Saudi Arabia and send military advisers to support Saudi staff officers, the ministry said. The Typhoons will protect Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure from drones and missiles.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting approved the package, saying the decision was taken after a sharp escalation in Houthi attacks, including repeated strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport.
"The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are 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.
"That's why today I have approved further UK military support. RAF Typhoons will fly defensive air missions to help protect Saudi airspace from drones and missiles. This builds on the UK equipment and personnel we already have in the country to defend against Houthi air attacks."
A defence source that spoke to Julisha Media said that the Typhoons, which are understood to be based in Qatar, will intercept drones and missiles launched from Yemen towards Saudi Arabia.
"The RAF will carry out defensive air missions above Saudi. If Houthi drones or missiles come over the border towards Saudi Arabia they will take them out," he said.
The move follows a request from Riyadh and expands a September package that included an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft to support Saudi combat aircraft. UK is now extending that refuelling support for another 90 days.
"The UK is already providing air defence equipment and British personnel to help protect the kingdom," a Downing Street spokesperson told Julisha.
Over the past month, the Houthis — also known as Ansar Allah — have intensified their attacks on Saudi Arabia, launching ballistic missiles and drones at key infrastructure, including oil facilities and airports.
The conflict has been intensifying since the Houthis announced in July that they would target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea as well as infrastructure inside the kingdom, following a Saudi attack on the Houthi-controlled airport in the Yemeni capital Sana'a.
Yemen's civil war — in which Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting the Yemeni government since 2015 — reignited in September after the collapse of a years-long truce.
They have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks, launching repeated strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, with the Saudi capital's international airport targeted 20 times since the beginning of the month.
One such strike on October 10, killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, making it the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. The thirteen who died were civilians, prompting the UK to authorise the new deployment. A defence source compared the airport attack to "Heathrow being blown up."
Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it downed a missile over the capital, Riyadh, where the airport remains closed, followed by the interception of a drone in the capital's vicinity. Authorities issued a brief danger warning, while two blasts were heard in the city.
The Houthis have also imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting its tankers, seizing swathes of Yemen's Red Sea coast vital for oil exports and causing energy prices to jump, while also raining missiles on the kingdom.
Other attacks have targeted energy installations and oil fields, and the headquarters of Aramco, the national oil company, in the city of Dhahran.
The RAF will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis. Typhoons have been carrying out similar missions to defend Gulf states and Cyprus from Iranian missiles and drones.
Britain is not joining Saudi Arabia's offensive bombing campaign in Yemen, its jets will shoot down incoming drones and missiles, but will not strike Houthi targets on the ground.
The same approach is being taken by other allies. France has promised soldiers, radars and air defences to protect the Yanbu oil terminal. The United States supplies intelligence and targeting support but has so far declined to strike on Riyadh's behalf. More than 100 American military advisers are on the ground providing intelligence and targeting support under a newly established joint forces command.
Pakistan has forces stationed in Saudi Arabia, and Egypt's parliament has postponed until October 26 a vote on letting its army help defend Saudi Arabia against the Houthis.
Even the Mecca pact, which treats an attack on any of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan as an attack on all, has not yet produced new support for the kingdom. Pakistan has not visibly added to the 8,000 troops, fighter squadron and air defence system it had deployed. Turkey's parliament has yet to ratify the pact.
Saudi Arabia has been struggling to cope with Houthi attacks and the offensive in Yemen is floundering. Despite spending billions of dollars on US-made Patriots, THAAD and other systems, the kingdom has struggled to defend all of its assets because of its size.
