The United Kingdom is set to deploy Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, marking a further escalation in British involvement in the war Riyadh launched against Yemen’s armed forces.

The UK Ministry of Defense said the operation would involve RAF Typhoons flying "defensive missions to protect Saudi cities, airports and critical infrastructure" from retaliatory attacks by the Yemeni armed forces. The number of aircraft involved has not been disclosed.

The deployment will be accompanied by military advisers and an Atlas A400M transport aircraft, while an existing commitment to provide air-to-air refueling support for Saudi warplanes through an RAF Voyager aircraft will continue.

The decision follows discussions between British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and US War Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon to join the Saudi aggression against Yemen.

The move comes amid Britain’s longstanding military partnership with Saudi Arabia. BAE Systems has supplied Riyadh with 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets under a deal originally valued at £4.4 billion, while negotiations over a potential additional purchase of 48 aircraft have continued for years.

Saudi Arabia requested intelligence assistance from Israel to confront Yemen, says report

Diplomatic sources assert that Israel and Saudi Arabia have held talks mediated by CENTCOM, and Riyadh requested intelligence assistance from Tel Aviv to confront Yemeni military operations.

In a recent statement, the Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates denounced Saudi strikes on civilians and non-military installations as a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and Additional Protocol I of 1977.

The latest escalation began after Saudi Arabia bombed Sanaa’s international airport in July. The Yemeni armed forces responded by enforcing a “blockade for blockade” policy and declaring an embargo on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.

The Yemeni military has announced several successful naval operations targeting ships linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, enforcing the blockade and impacting Riyadh's energy exports.

Yemeni forces have also launched retaliatory attacks on targets deep inside Saudi Arabia and made a rapid advance across Yemen’s coastal plain over the past month, tightening their grip on the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

The war traces back to March 2015, when Saudi Arabia and a US-backed coalition launched a sweeping military campaign and blockade aimed at reinstalling a puppet regime in Sana'a.

Despite years of bombardment and the deployment of advanced Western weaponry, the Saudi coalition has failed to achieve its stated objectives.