Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1620 EAT on Tuesday 22 September 2026

The United Kingdom has agreed to provide limited military support to Saudi Arabia to help it defend against attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said.

Speaking to reporters while travelling to New York for the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, Burnham said he had approved a Saudi request for the Royal Air Force to provide defensive air-to-air refuelling for Saudi aircraft.

The support is time-limited and will involve an RAF Voyager refuelling aircraft, according to British officials. The mission is intended to support Saudi aircraft involved in defensive operations against missile and drone attacks rather than offensive strikes against Houthi targets.

“We have received a request from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for military support, and on the advice of the defence secretary and the foreign secretary, last night I agreed to that request for defensive air-to-air refuelling,” Burnham said.

He said the agreement would be time-limited and kept under review.

Saudi Arabia requested British support after fighting between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government intensified in recent weeks.

The Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, including an attack targeting Riyadh on Saturday that was intercepted, according to officials.

The group has also made territorial advances in Yemen, including seizing the strategic port city of Mocha and several Red Sea islands. The developments have raised concerns over shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a key maritime route linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

Burnham said the UK was acting to protect British and regional interests, particularly the security of vital shipping and energy routes.

“We are acting to secure the interests of Britain and the wider region, because of course Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attacks, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways [for oil] open,” he said.

The British mission will be limited to supporting Saudi aircraft involved in defensive operations against drone and missile attacks, rather than assisting strikes against Houthi targets, the PA news agency reported.

British officials said the agreement is expected to take effect in the coming days and will involve an RAF Voyager aircraft providing air-to-air refuelling for Saudi aircraft on defensive missions.

The UK and Saudi Arabia have maintained close military ties for decades, with Britain among the kingdom’s major defence and arms suppliers.

Earlier this year, the UK deployed its Sky Sabre air-defence system to Saudi Arabia to help strengthen the kingdom’s air defences amid Iranian missile attacks during the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

The latest agreement on air-to-air refuelling adds to the longstanding defence cooperation between the two countries.

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