A ROYAL Air Force jet supported US forces in the Red Sea the night they blitzed Yemen on Donald Trump’s orders.
The UK provided a Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft to keep US fighters airborne longer.
Details of Britain’s involvement blow holes in US claims its allies are “pathetic” free-loaders.
The RAF Voyager aircraft refuelled US F-35B Lightning jets and F-18 Super Hornets on the night of March 15.
British fuel was utilized by jets to protect the US aircraft carrier Harry S Truman and its sizable crew of 6,000 from potential drone and cruise missile assaults.
US officials revealed at least a dozen Houthi drones were shot down during and after the deadly US strikes.
A British source hailed the RAF crew for “putting their lives in danger” to support a US mission.
They said: “This is normal for the RAF. It is normal for UK forces. It is what allies do for each other.”
The US jets that took British fuel were “the first line of defence” for the nuclear powered aircraft carrier.
An RAF source said: “We supported the US assets that were providing defensive combat air patrols around the carrier.
“If the Houthis had launched a cruise missile or drones at the carrier these were the assets that would have been first in line to intercept it.”
It is “far more efficient” to refuel in the sky than to land back on the carrier, they added.
The RAF Voyager that took part had launched from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and met the US jets over the Red Sea.
The RAF tanker is a modified Airbus A330 that can carry more than 100 tonnes of jet fuel.
And it can refuel two fighter jets simultanously from hoses that extend behind each wing.
The US Navy and the US Marine Corps were the recipients of the British fuel for their aircraft, opting for the same air-to-air refuelling mechanism as the RAF, which is commonly referred to as “probe and drogue.”
Leaked Signal messages showed US Vice President JD Vance complained that the mission to bomb Yemen was “bailing out Europe”.
A British defence source said that was, “bulls**t”.
They insisted the US had chosen the mission “of their own volition”. They added: “This was not at the behest of Europe.”
The leaked Signal messages showed Hegseth agreed with Vance’s furious complaints about Europe
Hegseth replied to a group chat: “I fully share your loathing of European free-loading. It’s pathetic.”
Hegseth went on to claim that America was “the only ones on the planet” who could conduct the strike on Yemen.
He said: “Nobody else even close.”
He also shareed detailed war plans in a security breach that has shocked the world.
But Hegeseth failed to tell Vance or US National Security advisor Mike Waltz that America had asked for Britain’s help.
Or that RAF Typhoon jets repeatedly blitzed Houthi targets alongside US forces last year.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed its provision of “standard allied air-to-air refuelling assistance to bolster the defensive capabilities of a US aircraft carrier in the vicinity.”
A spokesperson said: “The US is our closest ally, and we will continue to cooperate closely on defence, intelligence and security.”
It comes after the US dispatched B-2 stealth bombers loaded with 125 tonnes of explosives to a British island.
The bombs were were deployed to the Brit territory near a Houthi stronghold just days after Donald Trump ordered deadly strikes in Yemen and threatened “hell will rain down”.
The US military has sent at least five B-2 Spirit stealth bombers to highly strategic island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
These heavy bombers can obliterate targets with their huge 25 tonne bomb payload per jet.
This means the US’s deadly fleet of five could carry an astounding 125 tonnes of bombs.
