Todd Bishop
Saudi oil facilities have been repeatedly attacked. On September 14, a major oil processing facility of Aramco was attacked by drones, and the output of nearly 5.7 million barrels of crude oil per day was affected. The Yemeni Hussein armed forces stood up and claimed for the first time, while the United States said that it was Iran’s actions, and Iran did not recognize it. An attack turned into a Rashomon.
Saudi Ministry of Defense spokesman Turki al-Malki announced on September 19th a number of cruise missile wrecks attacking oil production facilities, saying the attack came from “northern Saudi Arabia” and used 18 drones and 7 missiles. .
It is important to know that Saudi Arabia has purchased tens of billions of US-made air defense weapons and American-made fighters, and has established “the most powerful air defense system in the region, which can provide radar coverage throughout the country.” According to sources in Russia, the Saudi Air Force deployed four battalions of 88 Patriot launchers, 52 of which are the latest Patriot-3 to protect the northern border of Saudi Arabia.
So many high-precision weapons did not have early warning and did not stop the missiles. The Saudi air defense system is only a display? On September 18th, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explained that “even the best air defense system in the world is not always able to shoot down targets.”
What Pompeo said also makes sense. Since the Yemen War, the Hussein armed UAV troops have carried out a large number of reconnaissance and strike missions in Saudi Arabia. Some have been intercepted and some have successfully attacked targets in Saudi Arabia. In May, two oil pipeline boosters in Saudi Arabia were attacked by the Houthi armed drones, causing losses. On 23 June, the Abuha airport in southern Saudi Arabia was attacked by a Hussein armed drone, causing 1 death and 7 injuries.
In any case, Saudi Arabia has no defensive capabilities against drones and missiles. Saudi Arabia cannot deny this.
Since equipment in the United States is not so sensitive, Saudi Arabia needs to find better products. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered that Russia is willing to provide assistance: “Saudi Arabia needs to make an informed decision, just as Iran buys our S-300, or like Erdogan decided to buy the most advanced S-400 air defense system from Russia. This type of system protects any infrastructure in Saudi Arabia from any attack.”
This is not the first time that Putin has marketed his own military products. During the G20 Leadership Summit at the end of June, Putin met with US President Donald Trump. Putin is having fun with Trump, don’t spend money on developing supersonic weapons, just buy Russian ready-made. The United States is one of the best military powers in the world. Do you know what Trump feels when he hears Putin?
On August 27th, at the 14th Moscow Air Show, Putin accompanied Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to watch the Su-57. Erdogan asked: “Can you fly?” Putin said, “Yes.” Erdogan asked again, “Can you buy it?” Putin said, “Yes.” Turkey has just been kicked out of the F-35 project by the United States. Putin made a special trip to Erdogan to see Su-57. This has to be conjectured.
Putin is so sure of Saudi Arabia, the United States, or Turkey that it is not for the sake of the moment, but to take the opportunity to advertise its military products.
Buying and selling weapons can create economic value. For example, Trump first visited Saudi Arabia in May 2017 to sign a $100 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Trump believes this can drive employment in the United States. More than that, arms sales can also show the close military relations between the two countries. For example, both Turkey and India risked the US to buy the Russian S-400 air defense system, showing that their relationship with Russia is not normal.
Of course, this is also the best thing that Russia can get. In the global political arena, the United States belongs to countries with strong influences such as politics, economy, and military. China is good at promoting economic cooperation with other countries and signing various economic and trade and infrastructure projects. Russia is not the same, its economic influence is not strong, and its total GDP ranks among the top ten in the world.
Russia is called a big country and is based on military strength. The United States expresses its strength as a “superpower”. China uses the “economic” card to express itself, and Russia proves itself with military products.
