Britain will widen its military support for Saudi Arabia by deploying an RAF air-to-air refuelling aircraft to assist Saudi defensive flights against Houthi drone and missile attacks.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced the agreement on 22 September 2026 while flying to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday. He had agreed to the Saudi request last night, following advice from the defence secretary and the foreign secretary.
One RAF Voyager, operating from a UK base in Cyprus, will begin refuelling Saudi aircraft in the coming days. The government has described the agreement as time-limited and said it will remain under review.
British support will be confined to Saudi missions defending the country from drone and missile attacks. It will not support Saudi strikes against the Houthis, according to the terms set out by the government.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the operation would support purely defensive Saudi missions. He said it would run for a matter of weeks, rather than days, though the government has not set out how long that period will be or the conditions under which it could end or be extended.
The decision follows a resurgence in fighting between the Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed government in recent weeks. The conflict has pitted Iran-backed Houthi rebels against the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government since 2014.
A Houthi missile strike on Riyadh on Saturday was intercepted. Yemen's Houthi rebels also claimed responsibility for an attack on Riyadh Airport on 19 September.
The Houthis have seized the port city of Mocha and key Red Sea islands. Their advances affect the Bab al-Mandeb strait, through which some 12 percent of world trade normally passes.
Britain had already sent its Sky Sabre air defence system to Saudi Arabia earlier this year to help protect the country from Iranian missile attacks. Energy Minister Martin McCluskey told MPs last week that the UK was providing air defence support to Saudi Arabia through the defence partnership between the countries.
The new refuelling mission adds a further British military role while retaining a stated limit on the aircraft's use. Its practical scope will depend on the defensive operations Saudi aircraft undertake and on how long the government keeps the arrangement in force.
G7 foreign ministers condemned Houthi attacks in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia after meeting on Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Their statement called on the Houthis to “immediately cease all military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith”.
The G7 also urged Iran to end its support for the Houthis, including arming them. The present level of Iranian support, any comparable military assistance from other allies, and whether Britain will send assets beyond the single Voyager aircraft have not been set out.
In January 2024, the UK joined the US in launching air strikes against Houthi targets across Yemen. The current arrangement is limited to refuelling Saudi aircraft conducting defensive missions.
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