Saudi Arabia’s Costly Defenses Struggle Against Cheap Houthi Drones

Saudi Arabia’s vast investment in advanced weapons is colliding with a cheaper threat: Houthi drones and cruise missiles that fly low, evade detection, and strain defenses built around different assumptions.

The mismatch extends beyond hardware.

Gaps in radar coverage, a historical concentration of defenses toward Iran and Iraq, and centralized military command have complicated the kingdom’s response to repeated strikes.

A cruise missile hit a domestic airport terminal in Riyadh on Saturday, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 300.

Other recent attacks have targeted energy facilities and military infrastructure, including an Aramco building in Dhahran.

“It’s a hugely rattling moment for Riyadh, humiliating on a number of fronts,” Burcu Ozcelik, a Middle East security specialist at the Royal United Services Institute, told The New York Times.

An Expensive Interception Problem

Saudi Arabia has bought sophisticated U.S. missile defenses, including Patriot and THAAD systems.

State Department figures show Washington has sold the kingdom at least 730 Patriot interceptors since 2020.

However, those purchases do not resolve every threat.

Patriot defends against ballistic missiles on high, trackable trajectories, while THAAD is intended to intercept at even greater altitudes.

The Houthis also deploy smaller weapons that approach close to the ground and can alter course, presenting a different detection challenge.

The economics compound the problem. A Patriot interceptor costing more than $3 million may be used against a drone priced between $15,000 and $25,000.

Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have also tightened global interceptor supplies.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have expanded domestic weapons production and broadened their supply networks beyond Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a U.N. Security Council report.

Radar Coverage Limits the Response

Saudi Arabia’s geography makes comprehensive protection difficult.

Its most elaborate defensive networks have historically guarded the Eastern Province, where much of its oil infrastructure lies, against threats from Iran or Iraq.

That emphasis left vulnerabilities elsewhere, including approaches from Yemen to the southwest.

Ground-based radar cannot see indefinitely beyond the horizon.

Yemen’s mountainous terrain further obscures low-flying weapons, which may escape detection until they have crossed into Saudi territory.

“It can be tough to find them at long range if you don’t have radar coverage,” said Kenneth M. Pollack, author of “Armies of Sand.”

Late detection compresses the time available to intercept incoming weapons and warn civilians. Analysts say additional airborne radar would help identify threats earlier.

Saudi Arabia has several hundred combat aircraft, principally U.S.-made F-15s and Eurofighter Typhoons.

Those jets can engage drones and cruise missiles, but their effectiveness depends on timely information about an incoming weapon’s location and course.

Command Problems Persist

The kingdom’s difficulties also reflect how its armed forces were organized.

Despite annual military spending exceeding $82 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Saudi Arabia retains separate military establishments with longstanding institutional divisions.

The regular armed forces number about 250,000 personnel, while the Saudi Arabian National Guard has roughly 125,000.

The latter has traditionally recruited from tribes loyal to the ruling dynasty and prepared for domestic unrest.

Analysts say princely influence and tightly controlled decision-making limit commanders' initiative.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pursued reforms under Vision 2030, removed senior officers and established a joint operational command in Riyadh.

Progress remains slow, analysts say, while Western contractors still perform much of the maintenance on advanced equipment.

Limited Options for Retaliation

Saudi leaders have promised a response as the Houthis threaten further attacks unless the kingdom ends its strikes in Yemen.

“The events of recent weeks are serious,” Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said after the airport attack. “Our response must be equally serious.”

Yet renewed airstrikes alone are unlikely to defeat a movement that survived years of Saudi-led operations following the kingdom’s intervention in 2015.

A ground offensive would entail difficult fighting in mountainous territory.

Divisions among Saudi-backed anti-Houthi forces further narrow Riyadh’s options.