US to send destroyer, fighter jets to UAE amid Houthi attacks

_{US to send destroyer, fighter jets to UAE amid Houthi attacks}

The United States will send a guided-missile destroyer and fifth-generation fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the wake of recent missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Washington’s top military official has said.

In a phone call on Tuesday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Abu bin Zayed Al Nahyan the Pentagon would send the “guided-missile destroyer USS Cole to partner with the UAE Navy before making a port call in Abu Dhabi”.

Austin also told the crown prince that Washington would deploy fifth-generation fighter aircraft – a classification that includes US-made F-22 Raptor and F-53 Lighting II combat jets – to the UAE to “assist against the current threat”, according to a readout of the conversation released by the Pentagon.

He added the deployment is a “clear signal that the United States stands with the UAE as a longstanding strategic partner”, according to the readout.

The announcement comes after the UAE experienced the third missile attack in recent weeks on Monday, which the US deployed Patriot interceptors to thwart, according to White House spokesperson Jen Psaki. The Pentagon later said UAE surface-to-air missiles struck down the incoming missile.

US President Joe Biden also told reporters last month that he was considering re-designating the Houthis as a “foreign terrorist organisation”, which rights groups say could drastically hinder aid delivery in the war-torn country.