英国宣布将部署皇家空军“台风”战斗机，协助沙特阿拉伯防御也门胡塞武装的导弹和无人机袭击。该武装组织也被称为“安萨鲁拉”（阿拉伯语意为“真主的支持者”）。
The United Kingdom has announced it will deploy Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets to help defend Saudi Arabia from missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, the armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God).
英国国防部周二在一份声明中表示，这些战斗机将发挥“防御作用”，并补充说它们不会对这一伊朗支持的武装组织实施攻击。
The jets will play a “defensive role”, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that they will not carry out attacks against the Iranian-backed armed group.
此举正值胡塞武装与也门国际公认政府之间爆发激烈战斗之际，后者得到沙特阿拉伯支持。
The move comes amid heavy fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.
近几周，胡塞武装对沙特王国实施了导弹和无人机袭击，目标包括石油设施和利雅得主要机场，而支持也门政府的沙特领导的联盟则对胡塞武装阵地发动了空袭。
In recent weeks, the Houthis have carried out missile and drone attacks against the kingdom, including oil facilities and Riyadh’s main airport, while the Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government has launched air attacks on Houthi positions.
英国决定派遣战斗机协助沙特阿拉伯，标志着这一合作伙伴关系翻开了最新一页，其渊源可追溯至一个多世纪前、第一次世界大战期间签署的一项条约，那比沙特王国建立还要早。那么，英国将派遣什么装备？两国是如何变得如此紧密相连的？以下是您需要了解的内容：战斗机、一架A400M运输机和顾问。
The UK’s decision to send jets to assist Saudi Arabia marks just the latest chapter in a partnership that stretches back more than a century, to a treaty signed during the First World War, years before the Saudi kingdom was founded. So what is the UK sending, and how did the two countries become so closely bound? Here’s what you need to know: Fighter jets, an A400M transport aircraft and advisers.
国防部表示，还将延长空中加油支援，此前英国已同意为沙特空中行动提供加油，包括针对也门境内胡塞武装军事目标实施打击的行动。溯源至第一次世界大战。
The ministry said it was also extending air-to-air refuelling, which it previously agreed to provide for Saudi air operations, including those to degrade Houthi military targets in Yemen. To the First World War.
根据英国国家档案馆藏印度事务部档案记载，1915年12月，英国驻海湾高级官员珀西·考克斯爵士与当时统治阿拉伯中部内志的阿卜杜勒-阿齐兹·伊本·沙特国王签署了《达林条约》。
In December 1915, Sir Percy Cox, a senior British official in the Gulf, concluded the Treaty of Darin with King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, then ruler of Nejd in central Arabia, according to India Office records held by the UK’s National Archives.
作为回报，伊本·沙特与英国结盟对抗奥斯曼帝国，英国则提供资金和武器支持。
In return, he allied with Britain against the Ottoman Empire, and Britain backed him with cash and weapons.
根据一份印度事务部备忘录记载，1927年5月，英国在吉达与他签署了一项新条约。阿卜杜勒-阿齐兹国王于1932年建立了沙特阿拉伯王国。上世纪60年代。
In May 1927, Britain signed a new treaty with him at Jeddah, according to an India Office memorandum. King Abdulaziz founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. In the 1960s.
根据美国国务院当时的一份备忘录，1966年5月，沙特阿拉伯与英国飞机公司（British Aircraft Corporation）签订了合同，购买了40架“闪电”（Lightning）战斗机、25架喷气式教练机以及一套雷达系统。早在那时，也门就已经卷入了这一系列事件之中。
In May 1966, Saudi Arabia signed contracts to buy 40 Lightning fighter jets and 25 jet trainers from the British Aircraft Corporation, along with a radar system, according to a US Department of State memo from the time. Even then, Yemen was part of the picture.
1962年，也门的穆塔瓦基利特王国（Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen）在一场军事政变中被推翻，也门阿拉伯共和国（Yemen Arab Republic）成立。埃及派遣军队支持共和政府，而沙特阿拉伯和约旦则为试图恢复王室统治的保皇派势力提供武器和资金。到1966年，也门内战已陷入僵局。
In 1962, the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen was overthrown in a military coup and the Yemen Arab Republic was established. Egypt sent troops to back the republican government, while Saudi Arabia and Jordan armed and funded royalist forces trying to restore the Imam. By 1966, the civil war had reached a stalemate.
与此同时，英国因控制亚丁（Aden）和也门南部的问题，遭到了苏联和埃及支持的民族主义组织的反抗；英国最终于1967年撤出了该地区。
Meanwhile, Britain was facing rebellion from Soviet- and Egypt-backed nationalist groups over its control of Aden and southern Yemen. Britain ultimately withdrew in 1967.
根据美国国务院解密的文件，1966年沙特阿拉伯国防部长苏丹亲王（Prince Sultan）要求英国在也门战事重新爆发时，派遣一支隶属于英国皇家空军（RAF）的战斗机中队参与作战（不过这支中队将悬挂沙特国旗）。英国方面则提出由英国飞行员驾驶这些战斗机，并表示在必要时愿意派遣一支“闪电”战斗机中队前往也门执行任务。
In 1966, Saudi Arabia’s defence minister, Prince Sultan, asked the UK to supply an RAF fighter squadron to fly under Saudi colours if fighting resumed in Yemen, according to declassified US State Department records. Britain instead offered fighter jets flown by British pilots, and said it was ready to send an RAF squadron of Lightning interceptors for a short period if required.
最终，沙特阿拉伯接受了这些战斗机及英国飞行员的服务，因此英国皇家空军的中队并未实际派往也门。
In the end, Saudi Arabia accepted the jets and civilian pilots, and the RAF squadron was not needed, the records show.
英国宇航系统公司（BAE Systems，前身为英国飞机公司）表示，其与沙特阿拉伯的合作关系可以追溯到1966年；1973年，两国政府签署了一份谅解备忘录，明确指定该公司为该项目的主要承包商。
BAE Systems, then the British Aircraft Corporation, says its ties with Saudi Arabia date back to 1966, and in 1973, the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding naming the company as prime contractor.
1985年，两国政府又签署了一项名为“Al-Yamamah”的军贸协议，内容涉及“旋风”（Tornado）和“鹰”（Hawk）战斗机的交易。路透社称，这些交易是英国历史上规模最大的出口合同。沙特阿拉伯每天专门拨出约60万桶石油来支付这些战斗机的采购费用。
In 1985, the two governments signed an oil-for-arms agreement, known as Al-Yamamah, for Tornado and Hawk jets. The Reuters news agency has described the Al-Yamamah deals as the largest export contracts in British history. Saudi Arabia set aside up to 600,000 barrels of oil a day to pay for Tornado jets and other equipment.
根据英国上议院的裁决，英国严重欺诈调查办公室（Serious Fraud Office）曾于2004年对与这笔交易相关的腐败指控展开调查，但于2006年12月终止了调查。英国检察总长戈德史密斯勋爵援引维护国家安全的必要性。
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office investigated corruption allegations linked to the deal from 2004, but dropped the inquiry in December 2006, according to a House of Lords judgement. The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, cited the need to safeguard national security.
1990年8月伊拉克入侵科威特时，沙特阿拉伯国王法赫德向友好政府请求援助。
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia asked friendly governments for help.
据英国皇家空军博物馆记载，1990年8月11日，12架英国皇家空军“龙卷风”战斗机从塞浦路斯的阿克罗蒂里飞往沙特阿拉伯的达曼。
On August 11, 12 RAF Tornado fighters flew from Akrotiri in Cyprus to Dhahran in Saudi Arabia, according to the RAF Museum.
博物馆记录显示，1990年10月，英国皇家空军在沙特阿拉伯的塔布克建立了进一步的“龙卷风”分遣队，1991年1月又在达曼建立了分遣队。
Further RAF Tornado detachments were set up at Tabuk in Saudi Arabia in October 1990, and at Dhahran in January 1991, the museum’s records show.
战争期间，时任国防大臣汤姆·金告知议会，沙特阿拉伯已向英国提供驻在国支持。
During the war, then-Defence Secretary Tom King told Parliament that Saudi Arabia had provided the UK with host-nation support.
他还报告称，一架部署在该国的“龙卷风”战斗机失踪，这是第四架在敌方行动中损失的同型战机。
He also reported that a Tornado based in the kingdom had gone missing, the fourth lost in enemy action.
据美国空军称，此后英国军机与美国和法国战机一道，从沙特基地起飞，在伊拉克南部上空巡逻禁飞区，直至2003年。
British aircraft then patrolled a no-fly zone over southern Iraq, alongside United States and French jets, flying from Saudi bases until 2003, according to the US Air Force.
英国国防部当时表示，2007年9月，沙特阿拉伯同意从英国购买72架“台风”战斗机。这些战机将取代沙特空军的“龙卷风”及其他机型。该交易价值44.3亿英镑（当时约合89亿美元）。制造该战机的BAE系统公司称该项目为“萨拉姆项目”。
In September 2007, Saudi Arabia agreed to buy 72 Typhoons from Britain, the UK MoD said at the time. The jets were to replace Tornadoes and other aircraft in the Saudi air force. The deal was worth 4.43 billion pounds (then about $8.9bn). BAE Systems, which builds the jets, called it the Salam Project.
BAE系统公司在向伦敦证券交易所发布的声明中表示，2018年3月，在沙特王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼访问伦敦期间，英国与沙特阿拉伯签署了一份谅解备忘录，旨在敲定采购48架更多“台风”战斗机的事宜。但该交易随后陷入停滞。
In March 2018, during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to London, the UK signed a memorandum of intent with Saudi Arabia to finalise the purchase of 48 more Typhoons, BAE Systems said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange. But the deal stalled.
德国参与“台风”战机制造并对其出口拥有否决权，在沙特记者贾迈勒·卡舒吉于2018年遇害后，暂停了对沙特阿拉伯的军售。卡舒吉是《华盛顿邮报》专栏作家，曾批评王储及其政策。
Germany, which helps build the Typhoon and has a veto over its exports, halted arms sales to Saudi Arabia after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who wrote critically of the crown prince and his policies, in 2018.
2024年1月，德国放弃了反对意见，时任外交部长安娜莱娜·贝尔伯克表示，自2023年10月7日哈马斯袭击以色列南部、以色列发动针对加沙的种族灭绝战争以来，中东已变成一个完全不同的地方。BAE表示，那一年它正在支持英国政府与沙特阿拉伯的谈判。
Berlin dropped its objection in January 2024, with then-Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock saying the Middle East had become a completely different place since October 7, 2023, when southern Israel was attacked by Hamas and Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza. BAE said that year it was supporting the UK government in discussions with Saudi Arabia.
2019年6月，在胡塞武装夺取也门首都萨那五年后，这场行动引发了一场残酷的内战，英国上诉法院裁定，政府在未评估过去事件是否违反国际人道法的情况下，批准向沙特阿拉伯出口可能用于也门的武器，属于非法行为。
In June 2019, five years after the Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, triggering a brutal civil war, the UK’s Court of Appeal ruled that the government had acted unlawfully by licensing arms sales to Saudi Arabia for possible use in Yemen without assessing whether past incidents had breached international humanitarian law.
新许可证的发放被叫停。2020年7月，时任贸易大臣特拉斯告知议会将恢复发放，称没有明显风险表明这些武器会被用于严重违法行为。
New licences were halted. In July 2020, then-Trade Secretary Liz Truss told Parliament they would resume, saying there was not a clear risk the arms would be used in a serious violation of the law.
英国也曾直接打击胡塞武装。据国防部称，2024年，英国皇家空军“台风”战机参与了美国对也门的袭击，此前胡塞武装针对加沙遭轰炸一事，袭击了与以色列有关的红海航运。
The UK has also struck the Houthis directly. RAF Typhoons joined US attacks on Yemen in 2024 following Houthi attacks on Israel-linked Red Sea shipping in response to the bombardment of Gaza, according to the MoD.
随后，在今年9月，英国派遣一架“旅行者”加油机，协助沙特阿拉伯为战斗机进行空中加油。接受加油的飞机是由沙特空军驾驶的英国制造的“台风”战机。
Then, in September this year, Britain sent a Voyager tanker to assist Saudi Arabia with air-to-air refuelling of fighter jets. The planes it refuels are British-built Typhoons flown by the Saudi air force.