UK launches airstrikes on Houthi rebels in joint operation with US as RAF targets military facility in Yemen
THE UK has joined US forces in launching a fresh strike on a Houthi target in Yemen.
RAF Typhoon jets, backed by Voyager air-to-air refuelling tankers, hit several drone manufacturing buildings 15 miles south of the capital Sanaa.
Advertisement
1
A destroyed building in the northern Yemeni city of Sadah after an attack by US warplanes on Tuesday
Credit: Getty
Forces used Paveway IV precision-guided bombs to hit the terror sites on Tuesday night.
The strike marks Britain's first involvement in the new phase of the America's 'Operation Rough Rider' against the Iran-backed group.
The US-led campaign has seen more than 800 strikes since mid-March.
The Ministry of Defence said the strike was carried out after dark 'to allow the targets to be prosecuted with minimal risk to civilians or non-military infrastructure.'
Advertisement
Posting on X, the MoD said: 'Overnight, @RoyalAirForce Typhoons conducted strikes against a Houthi military target in Yemen to defend freedom of navigation, strengthen regional stability, protect UK economic security, and reduce the Houthis' capacity to launch further attacks.'
More to follow...
For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
Like us on Facebook at
Advertisement
Most read in The Sun
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Watchdog looking into possibility of aide deletions in Hegseth Signal probe
The Pentagon watchdog is looking into whether any of defence secretary Pete Hegseth's aides was asked to delete Signal messages that may have shared sensitive military information with a reporter, according to two people familiar with the investigation and documents reviewed by The Associated Press. The inspector general's request focuses on how information about the March 15 air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen was shared on the messaging app. It comes as Mr Hegseth is scheduled to testify before Congress next week for the first time since his confirmation hearing. He is likely to face questions under oath not only about his handling of sensitive information but also the wider turmoil at the Pentagon following the departures of several senior aides and an internal investigation over information leaks. Mr Hegseth already has faced questions over the installation of an unsecured internet line in his office that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols and revelations that he shared details about the military strikes in multiple Signal chats. US President Donald Trump has given his backing to Pete Hegseth (Niall Carson/PA) One of the chats included his wife and brother while the other included President Donald Trump's top national security officials and inadvertently included The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. Neither the Pentagon nor the inspector general's office immediately responded to Friday requests for comment on the investigation. Besides finding out whether anyone was asked to delete Signal messages, the inspector general also is asking some past and current staffers who were with Mr Hegseth on the day of the strikes who posted the information and who had access to his phone, according to the two people familiar with the investigation and the documents reviewed by the AP. Democratic lawmakers and a small number of Republicans have said that the information Mr Hegseth posted to the Signal chats before the military jets had reached their targets could have put those pilots' lives at risk and that for any lower-ranking members of the military it would have led to their firing. Mr Hegseth has said none of the information was classified. Multiple current and former military officials have said there is no way details with that specificity, especially before a strike took place, would have been OK to share on an unsecured device. 'I said repeatedly, nobody is texting war plans,' Mr Hegseth told Fox News Channel in April after reporting emerged about the chat that included his family members. 'I look at war plans every day. What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterise it, was informal, unclassified co-ordinations, for media co-ordinations and other things. That's what I've said from the beginning.' Mr Trump has made clear that Mr Hegseth continues to have his support, saying during a Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia that the defence secretary 'went through a lot' but 'he's doing really well'. Mr Hegseth has limited his public engagements with the press since the Signal controversy. He has yet to hold a Pentagon press briefing and his spokesman has briefed reporters there only once. Signal is a publicly-available app that provides encrypted communications, but it can be hacked and is not approved for carrying classified information. On March 14, one day before the strikes against the Houthis, the defence department cautioned personnel about the vulnerability of the app.
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Army bosses plan to buy drones that can be fired from VANS after Ukraine's devastating attack on Russia
THE Army plans to buy drones which can be launched out of vans after Ukraine blitzed a third of Russia's bombers from lorries. Top Brass issued a request for a covert launcher that fits in a 'Sprinter truck or regular Transit van'. 2 Army bosses plan to buy drones that can be fired from vans after Ukraine's devastating attack on Russia Credit: Getty The weapon, codenamed Project Volley, must be robust, simple to use, weigh no more than 275kg, and fire at least five drones in four minutes at speeds of 200kmph. The MoD put out a message to industry, known as a 'notice for contracts', and will potentially give the launchers to Ukraine. It said: 'The user will use the launcher in a high-threat environment with persistent enemy surveillance. 'Therefore it must create a minimal signature — acoustic, heat, visual when used, eg hiding in plain sight.' read more on army It comes after Ukraine claimed to have destroyed at least 41 Russian aircraft on Sunday with 117 drones hidden on cargo trucks. They were in pre-fabricated sheds that were loaded on to flatbed trucks and driven across Russia. As they neared airfields, the roofs of the sheds flipped open and the drones took off. They destroyed Tu-95 and Tu-22 long-range bombers and prized A-50 Beriev command and control aircraft. Most read in The Sun Russia continues to launch drone strikes of its own, including one on a residential area in Kharkiv yesterday. The MoD's notice stressed urgency by saying that it is not interested in solutions 'that will not be ready for UK field demonstration or testing in October'. From tactical nuke to 7,600mph missile & 50k-troop assault…6 ways Putin could respond to Ukraine blitz after Trump call The MoD said Project Volley was part of a £5billion investment in 'advanced new weapons' based on lessons learned from Ukraine. It added: 'This investment will improve accuracy and lethality for our Armed Forces, while boosting UK export potential.' 2 Ukraine claimed to have destroyed at least 41 Russian aircraft on Sunday with 117 drones hidden on cargo trucks Credit: Getty Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
Business Post
5 days ago
- Business Post
Paul Johnston: A step change in defence readiness for UK as stark threat of Russia emerges
I joined the Ministry of Defence in September 1990, shortly after the publication of 'Options for Change', the UK government's response to the end of the Cold War, with the collapse of the Warsaw Pact the previous year and the imminent unification of Germany. Fast forward a third of a century and it's clear we are in a post-post-Cold War world. The assumptions we made then about a new era of rules-based cooperation and indeed of NATO partnership with Russia have been brutally shattered. China is a sophisticated and enduring challenge to many of the West's interests. Extremism is a scourge in many parts of the world. The world is a bleaker, less stable, more complicated place than at any time in my professional life. It was against that this backdrop that soon after the UK election last year Keir Starmer invited three external experts – former NATO Secretary General George Robertson, a retired General Richard Barrons and Fiona Hill, distinguished academic and former US NSA official - to work with our Ministry of Defence on a radical assessment of what UK Defence requires in the decade ahead. Their review was published last week. Its conclusions are stark. The threat we now face is more serious and less predictable than at any time since the Cold War, with the reality of war in Europe, growing Russian aggression, not just against Ukraine, nuclear risks, and daily cyber attacks. Technology is exploited by our adversaries as fast as we seek to adopt it. Hostile nations and non-state actors cooperate more closely together. The Review pulls no punches. It identifies Russia as an 'immediate and pressing' threat to Britain and our Allies. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine made clear its malign, neo-imperialist ambitions, its intent to re-establish its sphere of influence and to disrupt the international order. The modernisation and expansion of Russia's armed forces pose an enduring threat to the West, despite its capabilities being seriously degraded through the war in Ukraine, by the bravery and resilience of Ukraine's armed forces and people. The conclusion is inescapable. As the international security environment deteriorates, the UK will redouble its efforts within NATO and step up its contribution to Euro-Atlantic security more broadly. Deterrence in, and defence of, the Euro-Atlantic region is a core role for UK Defence. Our forces contribute daily – and silently - to deterrence and we will strengthen them to create an integrated force optimised for warfighting to protect and defend NATO territory. No-one in Britain's government relishes having to contemplate conflict, but it was long ago said 'if you want peace prepare for war'. We will do so with a comprehensive all-of-government response, accepting all the Review's recommendations, focussing on readiness, resources and reform. The review marks a significant shift in our deterrence and defence posture: moving to 'warfighting' readiness, to deter threats and strengthen security in the Euro Atlantic area. We will have a 'NATO first' defence policy and strengthen our leadership within the Alliance. Defence, like charity, begins at home and we will establish a more lethal 'integrated force' equipped for the future and for strengthened homeland defence. We will invest in new submarines, drones, armoured vehicles, but also in cyber, AI and the cutting-edge innovation technologies that will keep us ahead of our enemies. Options for Change's 'peace dividend' released billions of pounds for wider public spending in the 1990s. That's not an option today. Rather, we are investing in a defence and deterrence dividend, the largest sustained increase to UK defence spending since the end of the Cold War. We will increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027, and aim to reach 3 per cent in the next Parliament, ie by 2034. This is also an investment in UK industry, skills, research and innovation. Our Defence Investment Plan will seize new technology opportunities and maximise the benefits of defence spending to grow the UK economy, creating jobs and prosperity through a new partnership with industry, and through radical procurement reforms. For too long, defence investment, particularly defence procurement, has led to sub-optimal results. Projects come in behind time and over budget. This is not unique to the UK or to the defence sector. But it is indefensible, and our Ministers are committed to tackling it. Overlong and complex processes will be streamlined, with innovation and procurement measured in weeks not years. We will make UK Defence a more attractive market for private capital, by supporting and investing in start-ups and new technology companies in areas such as AI, quantum, and Space, and we'll remove the bureaucracy and red tape that are barriers to collaboration with Defence suppliers. We will establish a new £400m (€475m) UK Defence Innovation fund to support and help grow companies throughout the whole of the UK. 'NATO First' does not mean 'NATO only'. The agreement of the UK/EU Security and Defence Partnership on 19 May was an important moment. As our leadership of the coalition of the willing on Ukraine has shown, we intend working cooperatively on European Security with the EU and bilaterally with European partners. This includes, of course, with Ireland. We committed to developing our defence relationship at the UK/Ireland Summit in March, and we're ready to do so, respecting Ireland's long-established military neutrality, but also the shared understanding that the world has changed and we are all, in our different ways, obliged to react. Paul Johnston is the current British Ambassador to Ireland
