Summary
the airport has been repeatedly targeted since and remains closed. Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it had downed another missile over the capital. Inside Ye…
Britain announced Tuesday that Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets will fly defensive missions over Saudi Arabia to protect its cities and critical infrastructure from escalating missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen.
The Ministry of Defence said the Typhoons will conduct "defensive counter-air" operations — intercepting missiles and drones launched at the kingdom — and will not carry out offensive strikes inside Yemen. Britain will also deploy an Atlas A400M transport aircraft and military advisers to support the effort.
"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," Defence Secretary Wes 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."
The deployment significantly expands a British role that has grown in stages. The UK is already providing air-to-air refueling for Saudi jets — support Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced last month and which has now been extended for a further 90 days — along with air defense equipment and British personnel stationed in the kingdom since September.
The escalation driving the decision has been severe. The Houthis announced in July that they would target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and infrastructure inside the kingdom, and attacks have intensified in recent weeks. A strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on October 10 killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade; the airport has been repeatedly targeted since and remains closed. Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it had downed another missile over the capital. Inside Yemen, authorities said a strike Monday on a training camp for Saudi-backed government security forces killed 58 people.
Saudi Arabia has appealed to allies for help, and others are answering: France has agreed to deploy defense assets, more than 100 American military advisers are on the ground under a newly established joint command, Pakistan has forces stationed in the kingdom, and Egypt's parliament is debating whether to send support.
London frames the mission as defensive and time-limited in scope, but officials acknowledge the stakes run beyond air defense: continued attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure threaten global supplies and add to the cost pressures already squeezing British households.
Source: CNN
