Britain announced on Tuesday that it will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to defend Saudi Arabia, flying defensive counter-air missions to protect Saudi cities and critical infrastructure against missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi rebels.
Downing Street was clear about the limits of the mission: the Typhoons will intercept missiles and drones launched against the kingdom, and they will not carry out offensive strikes inside Yemen. Alongside the jets, Britain is sending an RAF A400M transport aircraft to move defence equipment inside Saudi Arabia, military advisers to assist Saudi staff officers, and an extension of the air-to-air refuelling support it already provides for Saudi air operations.
The deployment follows a month of sharply intensified Houthi attacks on the kingdom, with ballistic missiles and drones aimed at key infrastructure, including oil facilities and airports. In recent weeks the rebels have launched repeated strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport — one attack killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, making it the deadliest single attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting condemned the campaign in blunt terms. "The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable," he said. "The targeting of the airport in Riyadh in particular shows the lengths the Houthis are going to escalate the situation in the region. 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."
Britain is not starting from zero in the kingdom. The UK already has air defence equipment and British personnel deployed in Saudi Arabia to help protect it from Houthi air attacks, and the new package builds directly on that presence.
Saudi Arabia has been asking its allies to step forward as the attacks mounted, and Britain is not the only one answering. France has agreed to deploy defence assets, more than 100 American military advisers are on the ground providing intelligence and targeting support under a newly established joint forces command, Pakistan already has forces stationed in the kingdom, and Egypt's parliament is debating whether to send military assistance after President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called an emergency session on the deployment.
The escalation traces back to July, when the Houthis announced they would target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and infrastructure inside the kingdom, after a Saudi attack on the Houthi-controlled airport in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a. The rebels then launched a lightning offensive on Yemen's western coast, capturing key territory including the Bab al-Mandeb maritime chokepoint on the Red Sea — a move that potentially expands Tehran's influence over another vital trade corridor.
The fighting inside Yemen is intensifying at the same time. On Monday, a Houthi ballistic missile attack on the southeastern Shabwa province killed dozens of newly recruited Yemeni government forces — the toll has since risen to 73 dead, with 14 still missing, according to updated Yemeni reports. The US mission to Yemen condemned the attack as a "cowardly attack by the Iran-backed Houthi militia" on Yemenis who had "volunteered to keep their communities and country safe." Backed by Saudi warplanes, Yemen's anti-Houthi government forces have launched a counter-offensive to retake lost territory, but despite a heavy airstrike campaign and a large ground push, the rebels remain in control of key locations — and are still launching missiles and drones at their adversaries.