The Prime Minister has agreed to provide "defensive air-to-air refuelling" to Saudi Arabia in its struggle against Houthi rebels in Yemen.
It will involve a single British aircraft, an RAF Voyager, based at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, and is understood to begin in the coming days.
The move comes as Andy Burnham received a request from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for military support, which was agreed on following advice from Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband.
Officials have said the mission will be time-limited, indicating it could last for weeks.
The cost of disruption
The Iran-backed Houthis are locked in a civil war with the internationally recognised Yemeni government, which Saudi Arabia backs.
In recent weeks, the Houthis have increased their chokehold on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a maritime chokepoint on the Red Sea, which is vital for traffic heading to Europe through the Suez Canal.
Disruption or closure directly threatens the UK's energy supplies, inflation levels and international trade corridors.
More recently, the Iran-backed militants have carried out drone and ballistic missile attacks on Saudi's capital, Riyadh, in addition to energy sites on the country's Red Sea coast.
The UK government has insisted that the use of the Voyager aircraft will be limited to supporting Saudi aircraft defending the country from attacks by drones and missiles rather than supporting strikes against the Houthis.
Mr Burnham said he was "acting to secure the interests of Britain and the wider region, because, of course, Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attacks, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways open, and hence our agreement to the request".
In a statement, the Ministry of Defence described the Houthis as a dangerous threat to regional stability in the Middle East, and said, "It is in the UK's national economic and security interest that they do not succeed".
"We unequivocally condemn the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and are clear that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen have the right to defend themselves," they said.
The refuelling mission is in addition to the UK Sky Sabre air defence system already deployed in Saudi Arabia.
"Saudi Arabia and Yemen are long-standing partners of the United Kingdom and play a vital role in regional stability. It is in the UK's interest to protect regional stability, protecting vital trade and energy supplies and encouraging a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Yemen," the statement concluded.
Join Our Newsletter
