Prime Minister Andy Burnham authorized the deployment, which was announced by Defence Secretary Wes Streeting. The Typhoons will conduct defensive air patrols over Saudi Arabia, protecting cities, civilians and critical national infrastructure by intercepting airborne threats.
The British aircraft will serve exclusively in a “defensive role” and will not conduct offensive operations against the Houthis in Yemen.
An RAF A400M will help transport defense supplies, and British military advisers will assist Saudi staff officers. Britain will also continue providing air-to-air refueling support for Saudi-led operations for another 90 days.
The Saudi-led coalition said Wednesday that it shot down five drones launched toward the kingdom over the Medina area and eastern regions.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said Tuesday that forces had intercepted another drone above Riyadh, several hours after shooting down a Houthi ballistic missile headed toward the Saudi capital. Residents heard two loud explosions Tuesday morning and received warnings through mobile phone applications. No injuries or damage were reported.
Al-Maliki later said coalition forces had destroyed the launch platform from which the ballistic missile was fired. He did not identify its location.
In Yemen, government forces said Tuesday that they carried out 744 air and ground attacks on Houthi military targets over the previous 24 hours. Majid Al-Nuzaili, spokesperson for the government forces, said the operations struck command-and-control centers, firing positions, troop concentrations, reinforcements and supply lines on multiple fronts.
Al-Nuzaili said the attacks “neutralized” about 200 Houthi fighters and destroyed or damaged 90 military vehicles and other equipment. The claims could not be independently verified.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said Tuesday that Saudi forces launched 93 air and missile strikes across eight Yemeni provinces during the previous 24 hours, raising the number since the current escalation began to 2,793. The figures could not be independently verified.
Houthi-run al-Masirah TV also said eight fishermen were killed in attacks on two fishing boats off Dhubab district in southwestern Taiz province. Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to the allegation.
