Saudi Arabia has begun the transfer and localisation of ballistic missile technologies

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

Rocket-engine test stand at secret Saudi missile base resembles Chinese design, experts say

• Satellite images suggest that Saudi Arabia has constructed its first known ballistic missile factory, according to weapons experts and image analysts

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/mid...est-stand-secret-saudi-missile-base-resembles

Good. It should escalate further.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1184728769225003008

https://twitter.com/x/status/1184729355022458880

https://twitter.com/x/status/1183808684511641601

https://twitter.com/x/status/1185215319998193664

Continued:
Uranium and heavy metals in Phosphate Fertilizers

From book Uranium, Mining and Hydrogeology (pp.193-198)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226094606_Uranium_and_heavy_metals_in_Phosphate_Fertilizers

Saudis to Prospect for Uranium, Thorium with China – over US Objections
Mar 14, 2019 @ 19:34 DEBKA Weekly


Saudi Arabia is pushing ahead with a geological survey to explore and assess its uranium and thorium resources in the kingdom’s western Hail Province, in the face of US objections. Although this largely agricultural region was always thought to hold small supplies of these substances, Riyadh suddenly perked up of late to its potential after Chinese geologists turned up promising finds.

Hail produces large quantities of dates and fruit and most of the kingdom’s wheat and grain. It has historically derived its wealth as a wayside station on the camel caravan Hajj route to Mecca.

Most of the world’s uranium is found either in northern countries like Canada or Russia or the south in places like South Africa and southern Australia. Jordan is thought to have substantial reserves, up to 65,000 tons of uranium plus the potential to extract 140,000 tonnes from phosphates. Foreign firms have been given mining contracts.

However, DEBKA Weekly’s sources report that Chinese geologists hired by the Saudi government reported that Jordan’s uranium deposits extend south as far as Saudi Arabia’s Hail. Riyadh’s eagerness to co-opt Beijing to the start of its uranium mining project has raised suspicions, especially in Washington, that Saudi Arabia is secretly conducting a nuclear program a lot bigger than suggested by intelligence findings.
The project is going forward as a partnership between the King Abdullah City for Atomic Research and Renewable Energy (KACARE) and China’s National Nuclear Cooperation (CNNC) for the stated aim of “exploring uranium and thorium deposits for peaceful use.”

Last October, the KACARE president Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani said his agency was tasked with “nuclear plans” and proposed to “extract uranium domestically as part of its nuclear program” and a step towards “self-sufficiency in the production of atomic fuel.”

Five months ago, Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman laid the cornerstone for the kingdom’s first nuclear research reactor. This posed a question: Why does the nation with the world’s largest reserves of oil need nuclear reactors for power? It also raised the suspicion that the Saudis wanted a possible infrastructure for manufacturing plutonium from the nuclear fuel produced by this research reactor.

In past negotiations with the Obama administration, the Saudis firmly refused to relinquish their right to enrich uranium for use as nuclear fuel for their power reactors project. The Trump administration, in contrast, is prepared to countenance uranium enrichment in Saudi Arabia under restrictions, despite strong objections in both houses of congress. Antagonism to Saudi Arabia among US lawmakers remains high over the suspicion that the crown prince engineered the death of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.

Although Riyadh replies that putting nuclear energy to civilian use will free up more of its oil for export, no one doubts that its overriding motivation is in the realm of “security.” The Saudis deeply resent lagging behind Iran’s nuclear efforts and watch with covetous and suspicious eyes the rapid nuclear advances achieved by their ally, the United Arab Emirates. In 2018, the UAE completed the construction of its first civilian nuclear plant. In an agreement with the United States the UAE signed a commitment not to use the reactor for uranium enrichment in return for which it was granted international assistance. The Saudis refuse to undertake this commitment, maintaining that since Iran is allowed to enrich uranium, they too have this right.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, on Wednesday, March 13, accused regional powers of “spending their petrodollars on suspicious nuclear projects” that could endanger security in the region and the world. He did not name those powers. Those new threats, Shamkhani said, would force Iran to revise its strategy depending on their nature and geography and the needs of “our country and armed forces.” Last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused the United States of hypocrisy for trying to wreck Iran’s nuclear program while seeking to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, Tehran’s regional rival. The Saudi government has so far, with unusual stubbornness, refused to turn over to Washington any information on the nuclear program it is running out of King Abdullah City, or explain what Chinese engineers and technicians are doing there. Therefore, the decision to prospect for uranium and thorium in the Hail province has widened the differences between Riyadh and Washington on the nuclear issue. In an effort to bridge the gap, the US was last week reported to be “encouraging Saudi Arabia to consider bids by American companies to build nuclear reactors.” Washington hopes that if US companies like Westinghouse win those contracts, the administration will have access to a much clear picture on what is going on inside the Saudi nuclear program.

https://www.debka.com/saudis-to-prospect-for-uranium-thorium-with-china-over-us-objections/

Saudi Arabia's first nuclear reactor nearly finished, sparking fears over safeguards

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...early-finished-sparking-fears-over-safeguards

KACARE launches uranium program to train Saudis

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1464706/saudi-arabia

Saudi Arabia owns 5% of global uranium reserves

https://english.mubasher.info/news/3251245/Saudi-Arabia-owns-5-of-global-uranium-reserves

As Saudi Arabia Builds A Nuclear Reactor, Some Worry About Its Motives


Bomb Watchers Twitching as Looser Rules Weighed for Uranium

Countries encouraged to look at extraction from phosphates, providing potential new pathways to the nuclear material used in reactors and weapons

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...xpand-phosphate-link-to-weapons-proliferation

Wa’ad El-Shamal: The capital of global phosphate

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/551114

Wa’ad Al Shamal pivotal in development of KSA’s vast phosphate reserves

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/arti...elopment-of-KSAsvast-phosphate-reserves?rss=1


Saudi crown prince warns it will build nuclear bomb if Tehran does the same
Prince Mohammed bin Salman is pressing the US to allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium in return for choosing American nuclear technology

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-iran-nuclear-bomb-threat-mohammed-bin-salman

Saudi missile program expanded with help from China, US intel said to show
Trump administration reportedly withheld information from Congress, raising concern it is tacitly approving move; fears raised Riyadh could be seeking nuclear weapons

https://www.timesofisrael.com/saudi...d-with-help-from-china-us-intel-said-to-show/

Exclusive: US intel shows Saudi Arabia escalated its missile program with help from China

Pakistan

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/05/...udi-arabia-ballistic-missile-china/index.html

Saudi Arabia, China have established ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1534636/saudi-arabia

Saudi Space Agency Begins To Take Shape, Reported $1 Billion Budget In First Year

https://spacewatch.global/2019/04/s...hape-reported-1-billion-budget-in-first-year/

Connect the dots.

Saudi Arabia wants to enrich uranium for nuclear power: Energy minister

REUTERS
September 09, 2019 11:05

• Saudi Arabia has said it wants to tap nuclear technology for peaceful uses

ABU DHABI: Saudi Arabia wants to have uranium production and enrichment in future for its planned nuclear power program that will begin with two atomic reactors, the kingdom’s new energy minister said on Monday.
“We are proceeding with it cautiously ... we are experimenting with two nuclear reactors,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.
Saudi Arabia has said it wants to tap nuclear technology for peaceful uses. But enrichment of uranium is a sensitive step in the nuclear fuel cycle because it can open up the possibility of military uses of the material, the issue at the heart of Western and regional concerns over Iran’s atomic work.

Prince Abdulaziz also told reporters the world’s top oil exporter would keep working with other producers to achieve market balance and that an OPEC-led supply-curbing deal would survive “with the will of everybody.”

He said there would be “no radical” change in the oil policy of Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de facto leader, which he said was based on strategic considerations such as reserves and energy consumption.

The prince had helped negotiate the deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, to cut global crude supply in order to support prices and balance the market.

He told reporters that the OPEC+ alliance was “staying for the long term” and called on OPEC members to comply with output targets.

“We have always worked in a cohesive, coherent way within OPEC to make sure that producers work and prosper together,” the prince said.

“It would be wrong from my end to pre-empt the rest of the OPEC members,” he said when asked whether there was a need for further oil production cuts to support the market.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1551986/saudi-arabia

 

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

Courtesy of brother @The SC from the "Made in KSA" thread on this section.

The Ukrainian government has received a delegation of senior military officials from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia headed by Assistant Saudi Defense Minister Lieutenant General Pilot Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Ayesh, who is one of the senior military personnel in the Kingdom.

Al-Ayesh was the highest commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force, and received a number of government awards from the governments of Kuwait, France, and the United States.
This visit is the highest visit of the Saudi Ministry of Defense to Ukraine in the history of full relations in the military-technical field.

The delegation was received by Mikhail Morozov, Deputy Director General of Marketing and Sales. The meeting took place as part of the expansion of military-technical cooperation between the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Among the schedule of the delegation’s visit, which is composed of a military attaché, generals and officers from the office of the Military Adviser and the Ministry of Defense in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Antonov government airport in Gostomel, where there is the plane building factory for the Antnov Airlines, especially the two giant Ruslan and Maria planes.

Delegates also showed other military equipment belonging to state government institutions that they brought specifically for the parade.

Ukraine and Saudi Arabia will expand international defense cooperation. The agreement was reached during joint working meetings between the official delegations of the Ministries of Defense and the Office of the Military Attaché in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the Ukroboronprom Group of Companies.

The agreement to expand cooperation was signed on February 5, 2020 between Assistant Minister of Defense Lieutenant-General Mohamed El-Ayesh and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Andrei Zagorodnyuk.

Also, as part of the visit to the territory of the government institution Antonov, a show of promising serial weapons was organized, as it was organized by private exporters in the Ukroboronprom - GP SVTF Progress and GP GVVP Spetstekhnoexport.

The companies have provided the delegations of the Ministry of Defense in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the latest developments in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and means to combat them, radar systems and electronic warfare systems, Antonov transport aircraft, armored cars, small arms, as well as the development of the State Design Committee, "Luch" office, In particular, the Neptune RK-360MTs missile system, the Alder system, and the RK-10 high-precision missiles, ATGM "Stugna" and "Corsair".

It should be noted that Saudi Arabia is an important defense partner of Ukraine and is buying Ukrainian weapons. These systems are the domestic anti-tank missiles from GosKKB Luch. As of 2020, hundreds of "Stugna" ATGMs and more than 1,000 "Korsar" missiles totaling more than $ 165 million have been supplied.

Meanwhile, due to the growing interest of the Saudi delegation in Neptune and Alder missile systems, the government committee of the Design Bureau "Luch", UAV Raybird-3 from Skyeton, introduced the family of 80K6 radars from "Iskra" and electronic warfare systems.

Signing the agreement between the Cabinet of Ukraine and the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on cooperation in the defense sector and launching new and joint projects in various fields of cooperation.

The agreement provides new opportunities for military technical cooperation and allows for expansion of defense cooperation between the two countries in a field such as the defense industry, information technology, education, and military medicine.


Also during the visit, on the territory of the State Enterprise “Antonov”, there was a display of serial and promising weapons samples

Delegations of the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia were demonstrated the latest developments in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and anti-aircraft vehicles, radar and EW systems, Antonov transport aircraft, armored vehicles, small arms, and the development of SSC, Luk, -360MC "Neptune", "Alder", high-precision rockets RK-10, PTRK "Stugna" and "Corsair

УКРАЇНА ТА САУДІВСЬКА АРАВІЯ ДОМОВИЛИСЬ ПРО РОЗШИРЕННЯ ОБОРОННОГО СПІВРОБІТНИЦТВА УКРАЇНА ТА САУДІВСЬКА АРАВІЯ ДОМОВИЛИСЬ ПРО РОЗШИРЕННЯ ОБОРОННОГО СПІВРОБІТНИЦТВА

(continue)

Neptun Anti-ship Cruise Missile
Neptun is an Ukrainian subsonic low-altitude anti-ship missile designed to destroy vessels with a displacement of up to 5,000 tons, as well as hit ground targets. The Neptune – developed by Ukrainian manufacturer Luch Design - can be launched from ships, coastal missile systems and combat aircraft.. n terms of performance the Neptun is generally similar to the Russian Kh-35U. It has a planned range of up to 280 km. In 2019 this missile demonstrated a range of over 250 km for the first time. It carries a High Explosive Fragmentation (HE-FRAG) warhead, which weights around 145 kg.

Alder rocket lancher..The system is Ukrainian tactical missile system Vilkha..it is a perspective rocket complex with guided ammunition..It is made on the basis of the BM-30 Smerch system.

ATGM "Stugna" and "Corsair"

UAV Raybird-3

80K6 Radar Family
The mobile 3-D air surveillance radar for low, medium and high altitudes with coordinate and track outputs, operating off-line or as a part of regional and national automatic control post (ACP) is designed to be used:
- as a part of anti-aircraft missile troops to issue targeting to anti-aircraft missile complexes;
- as an information link in the air forces and air defense units for air traffic control.

Operating frequency range : S


in range, km400
in azimuth, deg 360
in elevation,deg 0...35, 55
in altitude, km 40
Scanning interval, s 5, 10

Target detection range, RCS=3-5 m2 (at P=0,8 F=10-6):
at flight altitude 10km 200...250
Antenna type DPAR
Transmitter type Multibeam klystron
Transmitter peak power, kW 130
Number of beams 12
Clutter suppression, dB 50
Jamming cancelling, dB 20
Track throughput, more than 300
IFF equipment built-in
Number of transport units 2
Deployment/closing time, min
30

(continue)

Grom-2 is a Tactical Ballistic Missile, which can operate with several variable warheads including cluster and high explosive warheads.

In addition, the steering system is able to reach its target in different climates, with a CEP rate of only 5 meters.

The missile is capable of carrying 480 kg as a conventional warhead or 54 cluster munitions (7.5 kg each).

The missile has a ballistic flight pattern between an altitude of 11 - 50 km from the surface of the earth and thanks to the distinctive design and flight system the missile is capable of avoiding and hiding from air defense systems.

Saudi Arabia is in the middle of receiving first components of the Grom-2 ballistic missile, which has been jointly developed by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and Ukrainian Yuzhnoye Design Office, to conducts first firing test in September or October 2019, a Saudi military source told Defence Blog on 3 January.

The first batch of engines, spare parts and different conventional warheads were delivered to Saudi Arabia for the first phase of the test programme,” said the source, adding that the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces is expected to have the first Grom-2 ballistic missile system ready for use by 2022

Ukrainian military pages magazine


Although the two seem like strange allies, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia have cooperated on a number of aerospace projects, including the Grom-2 tactical ballistic missile, a scientific sounding rocket, a traditional medium-size satellite launcher, and an anti-aircraft missile

popular mechanics


The Grom-2 is equivalent to the Russian Iskander short-range ballistic missile.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Really love/hate the fact that our deep state is such secretive. Nothing would surprise me any more. From having nukes already to upgraded and continuously improved BM's.

In any case I like recent (few people know whether they are recent or old news in fact) developments a lot.

By 2023, additional Patriots batteries covering most of the GIANT country that KSA is, THAAD delivered, S-400 + the new jointly developed KSA-Ukrainian BMDS as well as existing one (KSA-Chinese). Crazy stuff in a good way.

 

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

Not related to China but nevertheless related to the Royal Saudi Arabian Strategic Missile Force - the fifth branch of the armed forces.

The Saudi Arabian funded Hrim-2 short-range ballistic missile (includes development, research and technology transfer to KSA) will have a very advanced guidance system and specifications. It will exceed the range of the Russian 9K720 Iskander.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1242490404420845569

 

[ArabianEmpires&Caliphates]

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/b...rabia-get-their-own-ballistic-missiles-127972

U.S. Confirms Saudi Ballistic Missile Production

• ARMS CONTROL TODAY

U.S. intelligence agencies have told Congress that Saudi Arabia is developing a domestic ballistic missile production program with Chinese support, CNN reported June 5. The official confirmation followed open-source reporting in January that disturbed some members of Congress, who questioned if that information had been deliberately omitted from earlier Trump administration briefings. (See ACT, March 2019.)

Saudi Arabia has deployed Chinese-supplied ballistic missiles for decades, and Beijing has said that the missiles were modified to carry only non-nuclear explosives. In January, imagery analyses by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey indicated that Saudi Arabia had expanded its al-Watah missile base, where the Chinese missiles were stored, to include a rocket-engine production and test facility. U.S. officials have now confirmed to Congress that the expansion in missile infrastructure and technology was facilitated through recent purchases from China. Saudi production of ballistic missiles would run counter to long-established U.S. policy to limit missile proliferation in the Middle East. —SHERVIN TAHERAN

https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2019-07/news-briefs/us-confirms-saudi-ballistic-missile-production

Iran and the Saudi Nuclear and Missile Programs
by Maysam Behravesh | May 10, 2019

Iran views Saudi Arabia’s budding nuclear and missile programs as an emerging strategic threat to be faced by constructing corresponding capabilities of its own—once they reach a critical stage of development.

https://insidearabia.com/iran-saudi-nuclear-missile-programs/