The United States of America (US) and Saudi Arabia this week wrapped up the largest counter-unmanned aerial systems exercise held in the Middle East, highlighting the growing urgency of defending against the proliferating drone threats.
The live-fire drills were conducted at the Shamal-2 range in northeastern Saudi Arabia. They brought together 20 counter-UAS systems in what the U.S. Central Command described as its most ambitious Red Sense exercise to date. The event focused on integrating radars, sensors, and weapons to rapidly detect, track, and destroy modern aerial threats, including drone swarms.
Admiral Brad Cooper, making his first regional trip since assuming command of CENTCOM, observed the exercise alongside Saudi Armed Forces Chief of General Staff General Fayyad al-Ruwaili and visited the Red Sense Integrated Experimentation Center. Cooper also met with the Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman.
“During the meeting, we reviewed aspects of our defense cooperation and discussed the latest developments in the region, as well as our shared efforts to address them in a way that preserves international peace and security,” Prince Khalid said in a post on X.
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“Threats posed by the proliferation of advanced drones are a pressing challenge,” Cooper said. “Working shoulder-to-shoulder with regional partners to innovate and adapt is more critical than ever.”
USA and Saudi Arabia also conducted a series of joint maritime security exercises earlier this year, marking another step forward in deepening the military partnership between the two countries. CENTCOM noted that Iran and its proxies have launched thousands of one-way attack drones, attack drones, and missiles across the Middle East in recent years.
Among the capabilities tested were the US and Saudi security forces’ integrated command and control system and shooters that were able to eliminate drone swarms. Ukrainian military has successfully defeated the Russian air defences by employing these tactics.
“Drone Defeat Rounds” (DDRs) were fired from 12-gauge shotguns, each shell releasing 720 tungsten pellets that are “denser than lead pellets to deliver significantly greater kinetic energy,” CENTCOM said.
The Red Sea Experimentation Center was established in 2023 to provide an innovative training environment for U.S. forces and Gulf partners.
“Red Sands brought together US, Saudi, and industry capabilities and expertise to identify ‘best in breed’ systems for detecting, tracking, and eliminating modern aerial drone threats,” Cooper added.