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Why Saudi Arabia Failed to Intercept Houthi Drones?

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https://www.globaldefensecorp.com/2019/09/28/why-saudi-arabia-failed-to-intercept-houthi-drones/

Why Saudi Arabia Failed to Intercept Houthi Drones?

BY GDC BUREAU · SEPTEMBER 28, 2019


Nearly a week after claiming drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities, Yemen’s rebels say will stop targeting the kingdom.

The Houthi rebels have repeatedly targeted key Saudi infrastructure in recent months in cross-border attacks. Earlier this week, they said they had picked out dozens of sites in the UAE as possible targets for future attacks.

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Earlier on Friday, Saudi officials brought journalists to the site of the Abqaiq oil processing facility, one of the two locations hit in drone and missile attacks on September 14 2019.

The Yemen conflict is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Question you can ask, why did Saudi Arabia fail intercept cheaply made Iranian drones and ballistic missiles when Saudi Army operates MIM 104 Patriot.

The MIM Patriot is designed and build to intercept ballistic missiles at a long range. The MIM Patriot intercepted ballistic missile numerous times in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Israel. The MIM Patriot can operate in fully autonomous mode, semi-autonomous and manual control through human interface. It’s possible that the Patriot battery were deployed autonomous mode for many hours which resulted drifting of the clocks of the command center and the radar AN/MPQ-64. A minor drift of clocks can deviate the interceptor missile PAC-2 which Saudi operates to few hundreds meters of distance from the target.

Another reason could be the lack of training of the ground crew who operates MIM Patriot. Arab countries are not known to have good training regimes let along a great training regimes. On September 26 2019, the United States dispatched 300 US Army’s Patriot operators to Saudi Arabia to train Saudi Army’s Patriot crews and operates Patriot Systems correctly.

Other possible explanation of the inability of Saudi Arabia to protect its infrastructure from missile and drone attacks is that it lacks layered defenses that include short-range air defense, medium-range point defense Systems and long-range missile defense systems. The Saudi Army lacks electronic warfare and laser systems which are capable of repelling mixed attacks of this type.

Missile defense involves detecting, tracking, intercepting and destroying enemy missiles. The air defense combines three types of missile defense, often referred to as a layered defense posture:

  • Tactical, short-range tactical missiles with a range of about 50 miles. Example: NASAMS II, CAMM-ER and Iron Dome. The NASAMS is also a point defense Systems which protect vital infrastructure like the US Capitol.
  • Theater-range missiles that range up to about 200 miles. Example: MIM Patriot and THAAD.
  • Strategic, long-range, intercontinental ballistic missiles that can travel wherever needed on Earth. Example: Aegis ashore with SM-6 BMD and anti-satellite systems.
The missile defense architecture also comprises three components:

  • Networked sensors, including space- ground- and sea-based radars for target detection and tracking.
  • Ground- and sea-based interceptor missiles for destroying ballistic missiles using either the force of a direct collision, called “hit-to-kill” technology, or an explosive blast fragmentation warhead.
  • A command, control, battle management and communications network providing operational commanders with links between the sensors and interceptor missiles.
Saudi Arabia could have pairs its long-range MIM 104 with medium-range NASAMS II systems designed to engage targets at midium distances. During the past few years of the EW systems deployed at the airbase successfully repelled dozens of attacks of armed drones. At the same time, Saudi Army could have Israeli Iron Dome to intercept artillery shells, drones and rockets. Considering great relationships between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Saudi Arabia could easily acquire Iron Dome Systems.
 
Patriot Defence system failed it might be good to shoot down huge flankers but Small drones need systems like russian punsir or BUK anti air defence. Patriot is old and flawed.
 
Patriot Defence system failed it might be good to shoot down huge flankers but Small drones need systems like russian punsir or BUK anti air defence. Patriot is old and flawed.
The problem with Pac-3 is they overspecializrd it . If it was Pac-2 it had more chance detecting and intercepting cruise missiles .
For short range they relied in skyguard and Crotale.
 
The problem with Pac-3 is they overspecializrd it . If it was Pac-2 it had more chance detecting and intercepting cruise missiles .
For short range they relied in skyguard and Crotale.
Most likely these were kamakazi suicide drones which are more effective than cruise missiles.
 
Most likely these were kamakazi suicide drones which are more effective than cruise missiles.
You see those short range system I mentioned are old and designed for at most two decade ago threats .
 
You see those short range system I mentioned are old and designed for at most two decade ago threats .
Turkish russian and chinese anti drone technologies are the best in the world at this moment in time. Saudiz have good relations with chinese . and turks can help too .. But saudiz would like chinese more as they fear turks alot.
 
Patriot Defence system failed it might be good to shoot down huge flankers but Small drones need systems like russian punsir or BUK anti air defence. Patriot is old and flawed.
FYI: https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/16/14944256/patriot-missile-shot-down-consumer-drone-us-military

CAPTION: A US ally shot down a $200 drone with a $3 million Patriot missile

Look at the cost-to-benefit ratio.

Patriot battery, with decent radar coverage, can deal with a wide range of airbreathing targets but it is suitable for big game hunting such as jets, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.

You want to expend PAC-2 class interceptors costing millions of USD on cheap UAV? Not wise.

The problem with Pac-3 is they overspecializrd it . If it was Pac-2 it had more chance detecting and intercepting cruise missiles .
For short range they relied in skyguard and Crotale.
PAC-3 class interceptors are smaller and more maneuverable than PAC-2 class interceptors but PAC-3 class interceptors are were spotted in Mecca only in KSA (Credit to JANES). This might change in the near future.

PAC-2 class interceptors are deployed in spaces outside Mecca in KSA, and mainly pointed towards Yemen. These are big game hunters, and will be very very expensive to neutralize cheap kamikazi UAV (see cost-to-benefit ratio above).

Nevertheless;

Radar coverage around the Abqaiq oil field was indequate due to lack of strategic depth, and the fact that the oil field contain many radar-reflecting surfaces compounded the problem further.

"The Patriot battery in the area with its more powerful AN/MPQ-53 radar may have offered more advance warning, but it could still have had trouble separating the small, low-flying, and the case of the drones, slow-flying threats from background ground clutter, especially depending on its exact position in relation to the attacks. Abqaiq, as well as Khurais, are full of complex, metallic, radar-reflecting structures that could make spotting and engaging missiles or drones at very low altitudes potentially challenging from certain angles.


We also have no way of knowing what the alert posture was for the Saudi Arabian forces around Abqaiq and what direction their radars would have been focused on, if they were even switched on at all. There are reports that have indicated that the country's air defense networks, as a whole, have been almost exclusively pointed south toward Yemen, given the threat from Houthi rebels. The Patriot battery near Abqaiq, with its directional phased array radar, now shows signs of having been reoriented to the north in the aftermath of the attacks.


In addition, where ever the point of origin for the attacks turns out to have been, if the cruise missile and suicide drones struck their targets from the northwest, as the Saudis, as well as the Americans, have asserted, this could have been a deliberate choice on the part of the attackers to try to avoid Saudi air defenses. It may also have simply been a way of an attempt to mask where the attacks originated from."


BY JOSEPH TREVITHICK (The War Zone)

A well-informed Iranian member confirmed in his analysis recently that the intruding objects simply bypassed the line-of-sight of the Patriot battery near the oil refinery.
 
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Turkish russian and chinese anti drone technologies are the best in the world at this moment in time. Saudiz have good relations with chinese . and turks can help too .. But saudiz would like chinese more as they fear turks alot.
Yes you are right we have one of the best with jammer and laser combination
And 35mm spaag with smart ammo
but it is more suitable to sell Qatar and Azerbaycan instead of selling to KSA who is hostile to us at every international issues.
 
Patriot was set there against Houthi ballistic missiles and was looking towards Yemen. Drones were launched from Iran and came from different direction. Patriot is not designed to intercept small UAVs and it could not even see them.

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Patriot was set there against Houthi ballistic missiles and was looking towards Yemen. Drones were launched from Iran and came from different direction. Patriot is not designed to intercept small UAVs and it could not even see them.

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you pointed to us with zero evidence and we laugh

I think the Czech Republic is more accused than us.
although, Israel bought TJ 100 from Czech Republic not Iran which do not know what is TJ 100.
lol

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Success rate is high for intercepting ballistic missiles but not sure about drone. I think F15s can take care for it and should increase patrol there.
 
Patriot was set there against Houthi ballistic missiles and was looking towards Yemen. Drones were launched from Iran and came from different direction. Patriot is not designed to intercept small UAVs and it could not even see them.
There is no proof the drone or cruise missiles come from iran and images show the drones flight in detection zone of the radar. By the way crotale and skyguard were supposed to have 360 degree coverage
 
Question you can ask, why did Saudi Arabia fail intercept cheaply made Iranian drones and ballistic missiles when Saudi Army operates MIM 104 Patriot.
should i proceed reading??

Question you can ask, why did Saudi Arabia fail intercept cheaply made Iranian drones and ballistic missiles when Saudi Army operates MIM 104 Patriot.
should i proceed reading??
 
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