The United Kingdom has announced it will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to help defend Saudi Arabia from missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, the armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God).
The jets will play a “defensive role”, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that they will not carry out attacks against the Iranian-backed armed group.
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The move comes amid heavy fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.
In recent weeks, the Houthis have carried out missile and drone attacks against the kingdom, including oil facilities and Riyadh’s main airport, while the Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government has launched air attacks on Houthi positions.
The UK’s decision to send jets to assist Saudi Arabia marks just the latest chapter in a partnership that stretches back more than a century, to a treaty signed during the First World War, years before the Saudi kingdom was founded.
So what is the UK sending, and how did the two countries become so closely bound?
Here’s what you need to know:
What is the UK sending?
Fighter jets, an A400M transport aircraft and advisers.
The ministry said it was also extending air-to-air refuelling, which it previously agreed to provide for Saudi air operations, including those to degrade Houthi military targets in Yemen.
