US Removes Its Missile Defense System Stationed in Saudi Arabia amid Yemeni Attacks

Prince Sultan Air Base, some 115km (70 miles) southeast of Riyadh, has hosted several thousand US troops since 2019 when the Yemeni army forces and their allies launched a missile-and-drone attack on the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil production.

Just southwest of the airbase’s runway, a one-square-kilometre (about one-third of one-square-mile) area set off by an earthen berm saw American forces station Patriot missile batteries, as well as one advanced Terminal High Altitude Air Defence unit, according to satellite images from Planet Labs Inc. A THAAD can destroy ballistic missiles at a higher altitude than Patriots.

A satellite image seen by AP in late August showed some of the batteries removed from the area, though activity and vehicles could still be seen there. A high-resolution Planet Lab satellite picture taken on Friday showed the batteries’ pads at the site empty, with no visible activity.

According to satellite images from Planet Labs Inc, a 1-square-kilometer (third-of-a-square-mile) area, located just southwest of the air base’s runway and set off by an earthen berm, saw American forces station Patriot missile batteries, as well as one advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) unit.

But a satellite image seen by AP in late August showed some of the batteries removed from the area, though activity and vehicles still could be seen there.

A high-resolution Planet Lab satellite picture taken on Friday showed the batteries’ pads at the site empty, with no visible activity.

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby acknowledged “the redeployment of certain air defense assets”. He، however, claimed the US maintained a “broad and deep” commitment to its Middle East allies, Press TV reported.

“The Defense Department continues to maintain tens of thousands of forces and a robust force posture in the Middle East representing some of our most advanced air power and maritime capabilities, in support of US national interests and our regional partnerships,” Kirby said.

The Saudi Defense Ministry, in a statement to AP, acknowledged the withdrawal of the American missile systems, alleging that kingdom has “strong, longstanding and historic” relationship with Washington.

It further claimed the Saudi military “is capable of defending its lands, seas and airspace, and protecting its people.”

“The redeployment of some defense capabilities of the friendly United States of America from the region is carried out through common understanding and realignment of defense strategies as an attribute of operational deployment and disposition,” the statement said.

The Yemeni armed forces launched a retaliatory drone attack against Saudi Arabia’s southwest on Thursday, in response to the kingdom’s ongoing military onslaught and brutal siege on its crisis-hit southern neighbor.

The Saudi-led coalition invading Yemen claimed in a statement at the time that Saudi Arabia’s air defenses had intercepted and destroyed two explosive drones that were launched by the Ansaullah movement toward the city of Khamis Mushait.

On Sunday, the Yemeni Armed Forces launched missile and drone strikes against Aramco oil facilities in the city of Ras Tanura, situated in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, and other locations.

Saudi Arabia, backed by the US and regional allies, launched a war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power and crushing Ansarullah movement.

The war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead, and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases.

Yemeni armed forces and allied Popular Committees, however, have grown steadily in strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.