As per trade-specific news & analysis magazine Breaking Defense, Saudi Arabia has reached out to Israel over the possibility of procuring missile defense systems.
As per an Israeli source, Saudi Arabia is interested in Israel’s missiles. According to trade-specific news and analysis magazine Breaking Defense, Saudi Arabia has reached out to Israel over the possibility of procuring missile defense systems. The Iron Dome manufactured by Israel’s defense technology company Rafael and Barak ER produced by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is two of the choices being considered by Riyadh.
Israeli defense sources told the magazine that such an agreement would be realistic, as long as the two countries received approval from Washington. One source added that Saudi Arabia’s “interest in the Israeli systems has reached a very practical phase.”
Similar sources are accounted for as stating that Riyadh has effectively held low-level discussions with Tel-Aviv for several years about such systems. The discussions started to take on more energy once the US it was clear to eliminate its air defense assets from the Kingdom.
Sources have confirmed that American THAAD and Patriot batteries have been quietly removed from Prince Sultan Air Base, located outside of Riyadh. Those resources had been moved into the Kingdom following a 2019 strike on Saudi oil creation offices; while guaranteed by Houthi powers in Yemen, US authorities evaluated that Iran was really behind the assault.
Washington is unlikely to disrupt the new missile deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. For sure, Riyadh’s acquisition of Israeli manufactured weapons is relied to accelerate arms deals with the Arab nations that standardized relations with the occupation state a year ago as a part of the Abraham Accords. Saudi Arabia has upheld the position that complete normalization with Israel will only happen after it ends its Palestinian occupation.
Retired Brigadier General Giora Elland, former director of Israel’s National Security Council and a former head of the Planning Department of the Israel Defense Forces, said that he expects no objections from Washington to the sale of these Israeli systems to “friendly Gulf countries”.
Likewise, Riyadh is said to be considering other options for its missiles defense that includes China and Russia.
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