According to reports, the American military is in the planning phases of building a new testing site in Saudi Arabia, Fox News informed.
Three defense officials reportedly informed NBC News that the location is being prepared by United States Central Command (CENTCOM) for testing air and missile defenses as well as developing new technology to battle drones.
The authorities claimed that Saudi Arabia is a suitable location because of the vast tracts of state-owned land that would enable the military to test various technologies without interfering with local inhabitants.
Geographic attractiveness is added by its Middle Eastern location.
The Pentagon was contacted by Fox News, but they did not answer right away.
The Red Sands Integrated Experimentation Center is the name given to the new building at the moment.
The White Sands Missile Range is a current site in New Mexico used for testing long-range missiles.
The concept for the new location apparently came to CENTCOM commander Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla during a meeting with Middle Eastern partners in August.
According to two defense officials, the United States will likely contribute 20% of the facility’s financing and a comparable amount of its staff.
The rest would come from allies.
It is improbable that it will open before the end of this year, according to the officials.
The announcement comes around two months after President Biden’s Middle Eastern trip, which included a stop in Saudi Arabia.
Biden declared that the US “is going to be an active partner in the Middle East” while he was there.
A few weeks later, the State Department authorized the potential sale of 300 Patriot missiles to Saudi Arabia for about $3.05 billion in order to aid the Arab country’s defense against Houthi missile and drone assaults.
Additionally, it occurs at a time when cooperation and anxiety among Middle Eastern countries are sparked by Iranian threats.
Israel and other Arab countries have boosted their security collaboration, which, according to Danny Danon, a former Israeli ambassador to the UN, might develop into military cooperation if the United States enters into a nuclear agreement with Iran that they believe is not robust enough.
Be the first to comment