UK to help refuel Saudi jets countering Houthi attacks

A single British aircraft, an RAF Voyager, is believed to be involved in the operation.

Britain is set to deploy a military aircraft to help refuel Saudi Arabian fighter jets in the country's conflict with the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

The RAF Voyager plane, operating from a UK base in Cyprus, will begin "air-to-air refuelling" operations in the coming days after the UK agreed to a request from Saudi Arabia, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said.

He added the support was for "purely defensive" Saudi missions and would be time-limited for a "matter of weeks, rather than days".

The Houthis are locked in a civil war with Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.

In recent days, the Houthis in Yemen say they have carried out drone and ballistic missile attacks on the Saudi capital Riyadh, as well as energy sites on the country's Red Sea coast.

Explaining the nature of the deployment, Pollard told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We've agreed to the Saudi request for air-to-air refuelling" that would keep Saudi jets "in the air longer".

"The defensive action that Saudi Arabia takes against the Houthis will cover a range of activities, including shooting down those drones and missiles," he said.

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