The UK will fly military missions over Saudi Arabia to protect infrastructure from attacks, the government said today.
Typhoon jets will operate "in a defensive mode", London said, and will not carry out air strikes against the Yemen-based Houthi militant group.
Riyadh's escalating conflict with Yemen's Houthi rebels has seen that group widen the scope of its targeting to include several fatal missile strikes against King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, as well as a hit on state-controlled Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran.
The Houthis have claimed successful strikes this week on Aramco facilities at Yanbu, on the Red Sea coast, and on the 1mn b/d Shaybah oil field, but these were not confirmed. The group's most recent successful confirmed hit on Saudi oil infrastructure was on the Riyadh refinery on 3 October.
