A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon lands on Prince Sultan Air Base, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on July 29, 2021. (Credit: US Air Force)
On 5 August, the Royal Saudi Air Force carried out a joint military exercise with US troops using F-16 jet fighters, reportedly to test anti-drone systems.
According to a tweet posted by the US Central Command, “F-16s of the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing joined the Royal Air Force to conduct a joint training exercise on anti-drone air systems, demonstrating our shared focus on regional airspace security.”
انضمت طائرات من طراز (اف-16) تابعة لـ "الجناح الاستكشافي الجوي 378" إلى طائرات القوات الجوية الملكية #السعودية، لإجراء عملية تدريب مشتركة على الأنظمة الجوية المضادة للطائرات بدون طيار، مما يدل على التركيز المشترك ???? لـ أمن المجال الجوي الإقليمي https://t.co/gzP9RzWay4
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOMArabic) August 5, 2021
The US Air Force goes on to say that this exercise is part of an “ongoing series of integration missions through the summer of 2021.” The joint exercise comes mere days after Israel, the US and the UK claimed Iran attacked an Israeli-owned oil tanker off the coast of Oman, allegedly using a drone.