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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also told Abu Dhabi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a telephone call on Tuesday that
Washington would send the guided missile destroyer the USS Cole
to partner with the UAE navy ahead of a port call in Abu Dhabi.
"The Secretary also informed the Crown Prince of his decision to
deploy 5th Generation Fighter aircraft to assist the UAE against
the current threat and as a clear signal that the United States
stands with the UAE as a long-standing strategic partner," the
U.S. Defense Department said in a release.
The UAE on Monday intercepted a missile during a visit by
Israel's president, the third such attack in two weeks claimed
by the Iran-aligned group that is battling a Saudi-led coalition
that includes the UAE.
A week earlier, the U.S. military said it had fired multiple
Patriot missile interceptors at two inbound missiles which the
Houthis said they fired at the UAE's al-Dhafra air base.
The Emirati envoy to the United Nations last week said the UAE
may upgrade its defensive capabilities and was in discussions
with the United States.
The United States would continue providing early warning
intelligence and collaborate on air defence, Austin told Sheikh
Mohammed, the UAE's de facto ruler.
The attacks on the UAE, the region's commercial and tourism hub,
are an escalation in the Yemen war, in which the Houthis have
repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia.
The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the
Houthis ousted the government from the capital, Sanaa.
(Writing by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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