--- title: "Britain Sends RAF Typhoons to Defend Saudi Arabia From Houthi Attacks" description: "The jets will intercept drones and missiles but won’t strike the Houthis, while British tankers keep refueling Saudi warplanes." author: "rews desk" published: 2026-10-21T10:22:35Z modified: 2026-10-22T04:30:22Z url: https://rews.cc/a/britain-sends-raf-typhoons-to-defend-saudi-arabia-from-houth-739ffa language: en tags: ["houthi", "saudi", "uk", "war", "military", "mideast", "europe"] publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)" --- # Britain Sends RAF Typhoons to Defend Saudi Arabia From Houthi Attacks *The jets will intercept drones and missiles but won’t strike the Houthis, while British tankers keep refueling Saudi warplanes.* By rews desk · October 21, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/britain-sends-raf-typhoons-to-defend-saudi-arabia-from-houth-739ffa ## In brief - Britain’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that RAF Typhoons will help defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi missiles and drones - The jets have a defensive role only and will not strike the Houthis, the ministry said; jet numbers were not disclosed - The package adds an A400M transport plane, advisers and extended refueling support for Saudi air operations - Houthi attacks in recent weeks hit Saudi oil facilities and Riyadh’s main airport - Egypt’s Parliament delayed a vote on military support for Saudi Arabia; its next session is Oct. 26 Britain will send Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to help protect Saudi Arabia from Houthi missiles and drones, the Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday, but the planes won’t be used to strike the group in Yemen. The Typhoons will fly “defensive counter air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure,” the ministry said in a statement [reported by Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/20/uk-to-deploy-raf-fighter-jets-to-defend-saudi-arabia-from-houthi-attacks). Defense Secretary Wes Streeting approved the deployment. It was not clear how many jets would go or where they would be based. “The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable,” Mr. Streeting said. “That’s why today I have approved further UK military support.” The jets, he said, would add to “the UK equipment and personnel we already have in the country.” Fighters are only part of it. Britain is also sending an A400M transport plane and military advisers, [Nils Adler wrote for Al Jazeera](https://aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/21/ww1-to-houthis-british-jets-for-saudi-arabia-build-on-long-military-bond), and is extending the air-to-air refueling it had already agreed to give Saudi forces, support that covers their strikes on Houthi targets. A British Voyager tanker began refueling Saudi-flown, British-built Typhoons in September. The line is a thin one. Britain’s own jets will intercept, while its tanker keeps the Saudi planes that bomb Yemen in the air. And in 2024, RAF Typhoons joined American strikes on the Houthis after the group attacked shipping in the Red Sea. ![An umbrella connected by hoses to a passenger plane and fighter jet deflects red projectiles above an oil refinery.](https://rews.cc/img/2d0b3255d0d02e8c4802f59354ea348e18d51e1e.webp) The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, are fighting Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which Saudi Arabia backs. In recent weeks their missiles and drones have hit Saudi oil facilities and [Riyadh’s main airport](https://rews.cc/a/the-prince-who-wanted-airports-full-of-tourists-gets-them-fu-3a9994), and the Saudi-led coalition has answered with airstrikes on Houthi positions. Camille Nedelec, an Al Jazeera correspondent in London, said concern over rising energy prices was part of the reason for the decision. “What’s happening in the Gulf has a direct impact on people’s homes,” she said. The move, she said, “shows increasing engagement by the UK” in the region. British military ties to the Saudis are older than the kingdom. In December 1915, the British official Sir Percy Cox signed the Treaty of Darin with Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, then ruler of Nejd, who sided with Britain against the Ottomans in exchange for money and weapons. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932. The arms came later. Saudi Arabia ordered 40 Lightning fighters from the British Aircraft Corporation in 1966. The 1985 Al-Yamamah deal, paid for with up to 600,000 barrels of oil a day, brought Tornado and Hawk jets. Britain’s Serious Fraud Office investigated corruption around it from 2004 and dropped the case in December 2006, after Attorney General Lord Goldsmith cited national security. ![A cream airplane silhouette overlaps a large black oil drop with a cream highlight, while three golden droplets fall beneath it against a bright blue background.](https://rews.cc/img/d8998e1198588ff4295e4ba4772ccd453303e2e9.webp) When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, 12 RAF Tornados flew from Cyprus to Dhahran. British jets then patrolled the no-fly zone over southern Iraq from Saudi bases until 2003. In 2007, Saudi Arabia agreed to buy 72 Typhoons for 4.43 billion pounds, about $8.9 billion. Germany, which can veto Typhoon exports, halted arms sales to the kingdom after the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and lifted its objection in January 2024. At home, Britain’s Court of Appeal ruled in June 2019 that arms licensing to Saudi Arabia was unlawful because the government hadn’t assessed past breaches of humanitarian law. Licensing resumed in July 2020. Riyadh is looking for help elsewhere, too. Saudi Arabia has been pressing the Trump administration for more assistance, [The Washington Post reported](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/10/20/britain-sends-fighter-jets-defend-saudi-arabia-amid-houthi-attacks/), and Pakistan and Turkey [agreed this month to send forces](https://rews.cc/a/pakistan-and-turkey-agree-to-send-forces-to-saudi-arabia-und-ac6d1f) under a mutual defense pact. In Cairo, Egypt’s Parliament on Monday put off for a second day a vote on President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s request to authorize military support for Saudi Arabia if the kingdom asks for it. State media said the next session would be on Oct. 26.