News / Military

US, Saudi forces hold anti-drone drill amid fear of resistance power

Tuesday, 15 June 2021 9:56 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 15 June 2021 10:06 AM ]

This photo released by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) shows an American soldier during an anti-drone drill in Saudi Arabia in June 2021. (Via Twitter)

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) says it has held a joint exercise with Saudi forces on countering small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

In a post on its Twitter account, CENTCOM said Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) and Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) conducted the drill in Saudi Arabia last week in order to achieve specific objectives during crises.

تم الاسبوع الماضي في المملكة العربية #السعودية تمرين على منظومة المارينز للدفاع الجوي المتكاملة(MADIS) من قبل (قوة المهام الجوية-الأرضية لقوات مشاة البحرية للأغراض الخاصة والاستجابة للأزمات–القيادة المركزية🇺🇸). ومن احدى وظائف هذه المنظومة مكافحة المسيرات الصغيرة الحجم @USMARCENT pic.twitter.com/i706sydE8y
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOMArabic) June 14, 2021

The exercise took place days after CENTCOM head General Kenneth McKenzie expressed concerns about the use of small drones against foreign troops operating in Iraq.

He said the US was “seeing pressure from” anti-terror resistance groups “that want to push us out of Iraq, and the latest manifestation of that has been the use of small unmanned aerial systems, or drones."

"Some of them are very small, some are a little bit larger – all can be very lethal,” he added.

CENTCOM commander reiterates fear of small drones in secret Iraq visit

The top US commander for its Middle East military operations reiterates concerns about the need to find ways to counter drones targeting American forces in the region during a secret trip to Iraq.

In early 2003, the US invaded Iraq under the later debunked pretext that the regime of Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

It withdrew soldiers from Iraq between 2007 and 2011, but redeployed them in 2014 along with other partners to allegedly counter the threat from the Daesh terrorist group.

On January 3, 2020, the US assassinated Iran’s legendary anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of Hashd al-Sha'abi popular group, in a drone strike near Baghdad International Airport.

Two days later, the Iraqi parliament unanimously approved a bill, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces led by the United States from the country.

Since then, however, Washington has been dragging its feet on the pullout and targeting anti-terror groups from time to time.

American military convoys and army bases in Iraq have been the target of occasional attacks, while missile systems stationed at the US-occupied facilities have failed to intercept the drones and rockets fired towards them.

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