UK to send RAF Typhoons to defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks

LONDON — The United Kingdom will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets on defensive missions to help Saudi Arabia counter Houthi air attacks, the Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday. It said the jets will not strike the Houthis in Yemen.

The ministry said the aim was "to help protect Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure from air attacks, by deploying Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets," according to Middle East Eye. The ministry added that the aircraft "will not carry out any offensive strikes against the Houthis."

Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera Mubasher relayed the same message in posts on Telegram. The channels said the ministry had described the role of its warplanes as defensive and had ruled out offensive strikes against the Houthis. Those posts are unverified, but the wording matches the ministry statement as quoted by Middle East Eye.

Additional aircraft and advisers reported

The New Arab, citing a Bloomberg report, said the deployment is wider than the fighter jets alone. According to that report, which cited British officials familiar with the matter, Britain will also provide an Atlas A400M transport aircraft and military advisers.

The New Arab said the Ministry of Defence had not responded to its request for comment when it published. The ministry statement quoted by Middle East Eye does not mention the transport aircraft or the advisers. Those details therefore rest on Bloomberg's reporting, which Zenga News has not independently confirmed.

The New Arab described the Houthis as an Iran-backed group. It said the Typhoons would help defend Saudi cities and infrastructure against aerial attacks.

Escalating attacks

The New Arab said Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia had intensified in recent weeks. It said authorities in Yemen stated on Monday that a strike on a government security forces training camp had killed 58 people. The report did not say where the camp was located or give further details about the strike. Zenga News has not independently verified the figure.

The same page carried links to other stories, including one headlined that Saudi Arabia had postponed its "Davos in the Desert" event after attacks. Another headline referred to diplomatic visits attempting to hold off an all-out US-Iran war. A third said Egypt was ready to give Saudi Arabia necessary support. The page showed only headlines for these stories, and Zenga News has not reviewed their content.

What is not yet clear

The sources do not say how many Typhoons will be deployed or when they will arrive. They do not say where the aircraft will be based or how long the mission will last. They also do not say whether Saudi Arabia has commented on the deployment. The Ministry of Defence statement as quoted gives the purpose and limits of the mission, but no operational details.

It is also unclear how the "defensive" role will be defined in practice. The ministry said only that the aircraft would not carry out offensive strikes against the Houthis.

Background

Britain had already announced some military help for Saudi Arabia. According to The New Arab, the UK said in September that it would provide additional defensive military assistance following renewed Houthi attacks. That package included an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft. The September announcement did not include fighter jet support, the outlet said.

Tuesday's announcement therefore marks a step beyond the September package, according to the same report. It adds combat aircraft to the support Britain has offered.

The Houthis are a Yemeni group that controls parts of Yemen. The New Arab's coverage is tagged under the Yemen war. Its report links the Houthis to Iran, and the group has carried out attacks on Saudi territory in recent weeks, according to that outlet. Readers following Yemen news will note that the sources describe the UK role as limited to protecting Saudi Arabia, not to operations inside Yemen.

The ministry's insistence that the jets will not conduct offensive strikes is the main limit it has placed on the mission. The statement frames the deployment around protecting cities and critical national infrastructure.

Zenga News will update this report if the Ministry of Defence, the Saudi government or the Houthis issue further statements.