The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense has confirmed that “Royal Air Force aircraft joined coalition forces in striking a number of facilities used by the Houthi rebel faction in Yemen to attack shipping in the southern Red Sea.”
The statement added that “Given the persistence of the Houthis in threatening merchant ships, several of which have already suffered damage, and the deliberate targeting of HMS Diamond and US Navy vessels on 9 January, coalition forces identified key facilities involved in these attacks, and agreed to conduct a carefully coordinated strike to reduce the Houthis’ capability to violate international law in this manner.”
Four @RoyalAirForce Typhoons have conducted precision strikes on two Houthi military targets alongside US forces.
The threat to innocent lives and global trade has become so great that this action was not only necessary, it was our duty to protect vessels & freedom of navigation pic.twitter.com/tbN7ncJYpF
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) January 12, 2024
According to the Ministry, four Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s, supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, used Paveway IV guided bombs to conduct strikes on two Houthi facilities in Bani and Abba used to launch attack drones and cruise missiles.
“The detailed results of the strikes are being assessed, but early indications are that the Houthis’ ability to threaten merchant shipping has taken a blow, and our commitment to protecting the sea-lanes, through which some 15% of the world’s shipping passes and which is vital to the global economy, has been amply demonstrated,” the statement concluded.