Was the UK right to send RAF fighter jets to defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks?
The UK does not need a Commons vote to deploy forces: under the royal prerogative ministers can order deployments, and Parliament was informed by written statement. On 20 October 2026 Defence Secretary Wes Streeting announced RAF Typhoons for defensive counter-air missions over Saudi Arabia, with an A400M, advisers and a 90-day extension of refuelling support. The jets are barred from striking Yemen. The move follows Houthi missile and drone attacks, including a 10 October strike on Riyadh airport that killed 13 people.
43 Opinions
The Houthis are one reason petrol is so expensive
Let all muslim nations fight each other to the death.
Yes it is absolutely right to do this as a defensive measure, we are merely supporting allies. Its the moral thing to do.
Even if it's currently framed as a defensive mission against Houthi attacks, this just deepens UK involvement in a proxy war. Once our forces and advisers are over Saudi Arabia, mission creep is inevitable.
The Houthis are a shared common menace, and have harrassed global shipping.
They are an ally. The Houthis are a regional destabilising entity allied with Iran so backing Saudi makes good sense. No problem.
I think we (and other EU nations) should be more proactive in fighting terrorism across the world. Be it Iran, Hez'ah, Hamas, Houthis, ISIS, etc. The quicker the terrorist strongholds are taken out the better for the world as a whole. Get Saudi troops to assist with the others once Houthis are taken care of. The world needs rid of this cancer
Im sure Saudi has enough of its own planes and pilots. We should concentrate on British territory, while we still have any!
Saudi are a key strategic ally in the region and if they requested justifiable military support then we should help.
We've enough issues at home, let's fix them before looking next door.