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UK BroadbandNews Brief

Burnham agrees RAF 'defensive' refuelling support for Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks

The Prime Minister announced RAF Voyager tankers will provide defensive air-to-air refuelling for Saudi jets, hours before his first meeting with Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly.

By James Calloway · News Brief · · Updated · 2 min read

Prime Minister Andy Burnham arriving at 10 Downing Street in July 2026.
Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street, Crown copyright, via Wikimedia Commons · source

Andy Burnham has agreed to provide military support to Saudi Arabia in its struggle against Houthi rebels in Yemen, announcing that RAF planes will give “defensive” air-to-air refuelling to Saudi jets.

Speaking to reporters as he travelled to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday, the Prime Minister said he made the decision after discussions with Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, amid fears that the deepening Middle East crisis will add to cost pressures facing British households.

“We have received a request from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for military support,” he said. “On the advice of the Defence Secretary and the Foreign Secretary, last night I agreed to that request for defensive air-to-air refuelling. That’s the agreement we’ve given.”

The mission will use Voyager tankers and is expected to begin within days, lasting for “weeks”. It will be limited to supporting Saudi aircraft defending the country from drone and missile attacks rather than strikes against the Houthis, and sits alongside the Sky Sabre air defence system already deployed in Saudi Arabia. A small team of British military advisers has also been deployed to the kingdom, The Times reports.

The announcement came hours before Burnham’s first meeting with Donald Trump, scheduled for Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and his debut address to world leaders — where he is expected to set out his vision of Britain as an “honest broker” on artificial intelligence as the UK prepares to take the G20 presidency in 2027.

Sources

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