Britain sends RAF Typhoon jets to Saudi Arabia to counter Houthi missile and drone attacks

Typhoons join the defence of Saudi Arabia

Britain said on Tuesday, 20 October, that Royal Air Force Typhoon jets will fly defensive missions over Saudi Arabia. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting described the aircraft's role in a statement, saying they would shield the kingdom from missiles and drones fired by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Royal Air Force Typhoon jets will conduct defensive counter-air operations over Saudi Arabia, helping to protect Saudi cities, civilian populations and critical national infrastructure.

In practice the jets would intercept projectiles in the air, while Streeting stressed they will not strike Houthi targets on the ground. Britain is also sending an A400M transport aircraft to move defence equipment inside the kingdom, along with an unspecified number of military advisers who will support senior Saudi general staff officers. Streeting also confirmed a 90-day extension of the Voyager tanker mission for Saudi aircraft, which Britain agreed in September to offer.

Strikes on Riyadh and the wider kingdom

Since the start of October, Saudi Arabia has faced almost daily missile and drone attacks by the Houthis, and Riyadh's international airport has been struck at least twenty times in that period. The most severe of these hit the airport on 10 October, killing 13 people and wounding more than 300, according to the Saudi-led coalition. Saudi authorities have put the total death toll from attacks on the country's airports at 19. The Houthis have also imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, striking Saudi oil tankers and taking control of stretches of Yemen's Red Sea coast, which has pushed energy prices up.

Five drones intercepted on Wednesday

On Wednesday, 21 October, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on X that four drones had been intercepted and destroyed, in the Eastern Province and the Medina region. He later announced that a fifth drone had been shot down in the Eastern Province. He did not say who had launched them. Medina, the city that gives its region the name, is among the holiest sites in Islam, alongside Mecca, and the Iran-backed Houthis had earlier pledged to spare both cities from their attacks.

Truce collapse and the wider war

In September a fragile truce largely collapsed. The Houthis then launched a new offensive and took control of important areas on Yemen's west coast, including the Bab al-Mandab strait, one of the region's most important shipping lanes. Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi air support, have tried to win back lost territory, but the Houthis have held their positions despite heavy air strikes. The war dates back to 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile, and a Saudi-led coalition joined the fighting in 2015. The conflict has killed more than 150,000 people. Riyadh has also sought air-defence support from allies including France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt, a request first reported in September.

London's justification and the reactions

Streeting called the Houthi attacks despicable and said the strike on the airport showed how far the rebels were prepared to escalate the situation in the region. In a written statement to Parliament, he said the government sees no long-term military solution to the conflict in Yemen and backs a UN-led political process.

We continue to support a U.N.-led political process as the best route to a durable peace.

The British government argued that the escalation in the Gulf could hurt Britain itself, raising the cost of living, disrupting energy supplies and adding costs for British businesses, while also causing havoc among Yemen's civilians. An Independent commentary published on 21 October linked the Houthi escalation to a wider war with Iran that began in February and argued that Britain was being drawn into a conflict of America's making. It also noted that the statement did not mention France or the United States, the other western allies in the region. Washington, which bombed the Houthis in earlier years, has not carried out such strikes this time.