Saudi Arabia, despite spending $83 billion on defense, struggles to protect key infrastructure, as Ansarallah has learned to combine ballistic and cruise missiles with long-range drones, exceeding Saudi air defense capacity / Ansarallah's latest missiles bear strong design similarities to Iranian fast, precise weaponry

Saudi Arabia spends tens of billions of dollars a year on defense, yet it struggles to protect key infrastructure, including airports, refineries, and pipelines, against missiles and drones launched by the Houthis from Yemen.

CNN wrote: On March 15, Saudi Arabia's air defense forces will increase their readiness to protect the airspace of the holy areas of Mecca.

According to the report, this article continues: Saudi Arabia spends tens of billions of dollars on defense every year, but it is having trouble protecting its key infrastructure, including airports, refineries, and pipelines, against missiles and drones fired by the Houthi forces from Yemen.

Despite purchasing advanced and up-to-date weapon systems from America and Europe and having a multi-layered air defense, this kingdom has seen deadly attacks on the main airport serving the capital, Riyadh, during the past week.

According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Saudi Arabia spent $83 billion on defense last year, making it one of the top 10 military spenders in the world. It has purchased American fighter jets, Patriot and THAAD air defense systems, and an array of advanced weapons from France and Britain.

But Saudi Arabia has many targets to defend: a country roughly one-fifth the size of the United States, it faces threats from three directions.

From the east, in the most intense phase of this year's conflicts, Iran fired about a thousand missiles and drones at targets in Saudi Arabia. From the north, Iraqi militias have dispatched drones to attack the vital oil pipeline from East to West Arabia. From the south, the forces of Ansa Allah fire rockets at this kingdom from shelters and mobile launchers located in the mountains of Yemen.

Satellite images show damage to Saudi Arabia's east-west oil pipeline after a drone strike on September 22.

Defending Saudi Arabia requires protecting a wide network of targets, not just Riyadh or a specific refinery. According to an independent website that analyzes the kingdom's economic developments, Saudi defense systems must identify incoming threats, decide on their interception and warn civilians; That too in a very short time.

Saudi Arabia intercepts many missiles and drones fired by the Houthis, but some of them pass through the defense barrier. According to a Saudi source, the Ministry of Defense of this country is facing difficult decisions regarding the distribution of existing systems due to the large number of facilities that are under attack.

The Houthis have learned to combine ballistic and cruise missiles with long-range drones to pressure the Saudi defense and exceed its capacity. This approach is similar to Russia's operational method; Moscow has repeatedly used a large number of drones along with cruise and ballistic missiles in wave attacks against Ukraine.

Cruise missiles fly at a lower altitude, which makes their detection and interception more difficult. The Houthis have also launched a new generation of ballistic missiles, which they claim are capable of maneuvering.

No single air defense system can guarantee that it will intercept all incoming threats.

But the Houthis have not achieved these capabilities by themselves.

Eight years ago, UN experts announced that they had "identified the remains of missiles, related military equipment and military drones of Iranian origin that had entered Yemen despite an international arms embargo."

The same expert panel announced two years ago that "the scale, nature and extent of the transfer of various military equipment and technologies from foreign sources to the Houthis, including financial support and training of their fighting forces, is unprecedented."

Experts say that the latest missiles of the Houthis, including Hatem-2 and Palestine-2, are very similar in design to Iranian weapons. These missiles are fast and accurate.

Last year, a Houthi missile passed through Israel's famous air defense systems and landed near Ben Gurion Airport. Military analyst Amir Bar Shalom told CNN at the time: "They were very accurate, and if they were fired at a distance of 2,000 kilometers, that kind of accuracy is impressive."

According to Brigadier General Majed Al-Nazili, spokesman for the Yemeni government forces, the Houthis have also modified Iran's air defense weapons to use them to target aircraft and cruise missiles.

"These missiles travel for up to 25 minutes per launch and use a thermal tracking system," he said last month.

Will the Houthis listen to Tehran's request?

The Houthis have long been part of what Iran refers to as the "axis of resistance". Unlike some groups of this axis, the Houthis have become more powerful day by day.

They still have strong relations with Tehran. However, the Houthis also pursue their own agenda and goals.

Seven years of conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, from 2015 to 2022, brought suffering and extensive losses in the areas controlled by this group in Yemen. The economic blockade and transportation restrictions have continued since then.

Finally, this situation led the Houthis to announce in July that they would target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. The campaign of missile attacks also started shortly after; The attacks that initially targeted an Aramco oil refinery on the coast of the Red Sea and Saudi air bases.

A satellite image captured on October 3 shows smoke rising from the Saudi Aramco refinery site after reported Houthi attacks south of Riyadh.

The Houthis demand an end to Saudi airstrikes in support of the Yemeni government forces and also demand billions of dollars in compensation from Saudi Arabia.

Iran has proposed mediation between Riyadh and the Houthis. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that Tehran is ready to provide "any necessary assistance to facilitate the start of dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen" - meaning the Houthis.

Mohammad al-Bakhiti, a member of the Houthis' political bureau, claimed on Monday that Riyadh had accepted mediation, but that the group had rejected proposals for a two-week and one-month ceasefire.

Al-Bakhiti said: "The battle this time is not like the previous battles; The field is not the same as before. Each passing day of this battle expands its scope and deepens the damage. An agreement that is possible today may become difficult or impossible tomorrow.

Saudi Arabia is facing difficult choices

Saudi Arabia has tried to present an image of continuing normal conditions even as the conflict with the Houthis escalates.

Last week, before the series of deadly attacks on the Riyadh airport, the country's civil defense stopped sending public warnings by phone about incoming missiles and drones.

Alerts have since resumed, according to several Riyadh residents who spoke to CNN. Saudi officials say three ballistic missiles were intercepted on Monday.

A resident of Mohajer Riyadh told CNN that his children are studying at home this week. On Saturday, he expressed dismay at the lack of automatic alerts about incoming missiles in the days before, but said that until Monday, phone alerts were working well. He also expressed his displeasure with the silence of the Saudi authorities over the weekend attacks on the Riyadh airport.

CNN has reached out to Saudi officials for an explanation of why the warnings stopped.

Saudi Arabia will face difficult choices from now on. After the attacks on the airport in which more than 12 civilians were killed, reaching an agreement with the Houthis and coping with this group will be a difficult and undesirable decision.

This image from the CCTV video released by the Saudi Media Ministry shows passengers taking shelter on Saturday as part of the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was engulfed in flames and smoke.

Escalating the conflict through more extensive airstrikes will bring the risk of more missile attacks; Attacks that undermine Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's goal of turning the country into a world-class destination for investment, technology and tourism.

The dangers of this situation go beyond the oil industry. Data centers, water desalination facilities and airports underpin Saudi Arabia's technological ambitions, water supply and tourism economy. The crown prince's important investment event, which is scheduled to be held later this month in Riyadh, will draw the attention of international investors to his efforts to attract capital.

However, major companies did not welcome participation in the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh this week.