Which fighter jets and bombs are being used to strike Houthi rebel sites?

Red Sea military operations

The UK’s Royal Air Force has joined US forces in bombing military facilities used by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The strikes on Thursday night were launched against the Iranian-backed group because they started targeting ships in the Red Sea, a key international trade route.

Here the PA news agency looks at the powerful fighter jets, weapons and warships the UK military has sent to the region.

– Typhoon FGR4s

Four 52ft (16m) long RAF Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets were launched from an RAF base at Akrotiri in Cyprus.

Typhoons have a 36ft (11m) wingspan, about the same size as the length of a double decker bus, can fly at a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 – almost twice the speed of sound – and have a maximum altitude of 55,000ft.

The highly capable and agile jets are armed with a series of weapons, including air-to-air missiles, according to the RAF, and are capable of hitting a number of different targets.

– Paveway IV bombs

Fighter jets were equipped with the advanced and highly accurate precision bombs, capable of destroying the majority of targets while minimising collateral damage.

The Paveway IV has four main parts, a guidance system in the front which can be reprogrammed mid-air, a 225kg warhead in the middle, a tail section to guide the bomb and a smart fuse to control how it detonates.

Air crews are able to choose the impact angle and attack direction of the low-cost and all-weather bomb.

– Voyager

The 192ft (59m) long air refuelling tanker supported the Typhoons.

It is equipped with two underwing pods for refuelling the fast jets over long ranges.

The aircraft is just slower than the speed of sound, has a 198ft (60m) wingspan and can carry 111,000kg of fuel.

– HMS Diamond

The warship joined a US-led taskforce called Operation Prosperity Guardian which aims to ensure the Red Sea remains safe for passing ships.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said on Wednesday the vessel “successfully repelled the largest attack from the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Red Sea to date”.

He added: “Deploying Sea Viper missiles and guns, Diamond destroyed multiple attack drones heading for her and commercial shipping in the area, with no injuries or damage sustained to Diamond or her crew.”

According to the Ministry of Defence, the vessel’s main role is to protect other ships with air defence using its Sea Viper anti-air missile system and it can detect enemy threats “at range”.

It is nearly as tall as Nelson’s Column but designed to be “virtually impossible” for the enemy to see.

The vessel is said to have “cutting-edge military sensors” and “a range of sophisticated weapons systems” which make it “ready to detect and destroy any airborne, surface and sub surface threat”.

– HMS Richmond

The ship was the second British one deployed to the Red Sea after it was dispatched on Tuesday.

The type 23 frigate was designed to hunt for enemy submarines but since the end of the Cold War its role has become more varied.

It now undertakes “virtually every type of operation imaginable” from counter-narcotics and anti-piracy to disrupting people trafficking and detaining criminals.

– HMS Lancaster

The vessel has been deployed in the Gulf of Oman near the Iranian mainland.

It performs a variety of roles from drug-busting operations to protecting international shipping lanes.

The vessel can deploy with a Wildcat maritime attack helicopter, which the Ministry of Defence says makes it “ideal for our most challenging defence engagement and security operations”.

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