Houthi attack damages an Italian fighter jet in Saudi Arabia

An Italian Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet was hit during an overnight attack on King Fahd Air Base near Ta’if, Saudi Arabia, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto confirmed Friday.

Crosetto said the aircraft, designated F-2000 by the Italian Air Force, was parked in a remote area of the base when it was struck. No Italian personnel were injured, and no other vehicles or infrastructure used by Italian forces sustained damage, he said. Crosetto said he had personally followed the situation overnight in contact with Gen. Luciano Portolano, Italy’s chief of defense staff.

King Fahd Air Base has hosted Task Force Air-Arabia since late March 2026, an Italian Air Force deployment of roughly 300 personnel formed in response to the Gulf crisis and a request for support from partner nations. The task force includes Task Group Typhoon, four Eurofighter jets tasked with helping defend the assigned airspace, and Task Group Argo, which operates an E-550A CAEW aircraft for airborne early warning, surveillance and command and control.

The base has come under repeated attack or alert in recent days. Saudi civil defense authorities issued a warning for the province on Sept. 11, later declaring the danger passed, and press reports at the time cited possible missiles directed at the King Fahd Air Base area, though Saudi officials never confirmed the target.

On Sept. 14, the Saudi-led coalition confirmed Houthi forces had launched multiple ballistic missiles and drones at Ta’if, Abha and Khamis Mushait.

Italian aircraft have been hit in the region before. In March 2026, during the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran, an Italian MQ-9A Reaper drone was destroyed on the ground at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, where Italy also maintains a Eurofighter presence under a separate mission supporting operations against ISIS. Italian and international media reported at the time that two Italian Eurofighter Typhoons stationed there had also been damaged by shrapnel, though the Italian Ministry of Defense never officially confirmed that account.

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