UK deploys RAF Typhoon jets to defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks

Britain will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to help defend Saudi Arabia against escalating Houthi missile and drone attacks, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has announced. The mission, authorised by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, will be strictly defensive: the aircraft will protect Saudi cities and infrastructure but will not carry out offensive strikes against the Houthis, according to the government's statement.

The move follows a dramatic escalation in Yemen's civil war since September, when a fragile ceasefire collapsed and the Iran-backed Houthi movement launched a new offensive, seizing effective control of the Bab al-Mandab strait and striking deep into Saudi territory. Houthi attacks have hit Saudi airports, ports and energy facilities. A strike on Riyadh's international airport on 10 October killed 13 people and injured more than 300, the deadliest such attack on the kingdom in over a decade. Saudi authorities say at least 19 people have died in attacks on the country's airports in recent weeks.

The British deployment underscores growing international concern that the conflict could draw in outside powers and further destabilise regional energy infrastructure and shipping routes through one of the world's most strategically important waterways.