A Financial Times investigation reveals how “Ansar Allah” exposed the limits of Saudi Arabia’s massive military arsenal, highlighting that the Kingdom’s defense challenges stem not merely from the scale of military spending or the possession of advanced air defense systems, but from the evolution of Houthi tactics, the depletion of interceptor munitions, the widening scope of targets requiring protection, and the difficulty of locating and destroying mobile launch platforms. These challenges are compounded by persistent threats from Iran to the east and Ansar Allah to the south.
According to a source familiar with the details of the attacks, Ansar Allah employed long-range drones—believed to be of the “Samad-2” or “Samad-3” models—to probe the coverage ranges of Saudi interception systems. They subsequently deployed cruise missiles—possibly derived from the Iranian “Quds-4″—capable of low-altitude flight and course correction, making detection and interception difficult. The source characterized the results of these operations as a combination of planning and luck, without providing technical data confirming the identity of all the weapons used.
A key operational assessment was offered by Sasha Toperich—or rather, Sasha Bruchmann, a Bahrain-based researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)—who believes Ansar Allah is pursuing a strategy to exhaust Saudi defensive coverage by forcing the dispersal of interceptor batteries. According to his analysis, this strategy involves repeatedly attacking a high-value target over several days, compelling Saudi Arabia to redeploy a limited number of defense systems to that location; the group then monitors the sites vacated by these systems in preparation for strikes against other vital facilities left with reduced protection. Bruchmann posits that the geographically dispersed Yemeni attacks aim to dilute the density of Saudi air defenses and force them into constant repositioning, rather than simply striking every site targeted by a missile or drone. This assessment explains the successive attacks on airports, oil facilities, and cities, given the Kingdom’s need to secure a vast network of strategic targets.
Bilal Saab, a senior managing director at TRENDS Research & Advisory and an associate fellow at Chatham House, attributes recent failures primarily to Ansar Allah’s tactics and coordination issues among Saudi missile defense systems. He emphasizes that perfect air defense is unattainable and that some projectiles will inevitably penetrate defenses, even with advanced systems in place. However, he stresses the need to prioritize the protection of civilian airports alongside energy facilities.
The report offers a perspective that counters the notion of a lack of experience or competence among Saudi forces. David Des Roches, a professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA)—who previously oversaw training programs for senior Saudi air defense commanders—describes these commanders as highly competent. He argues that the core issue is not a lack of military expertise, but rather the evolution of Ansar Allah’s tactics and the emerging challenges associated with penetration and attrition strategies.
The newspaper reveals that Ansar Allah has leveraged years of combat against Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States to develop a more precise understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of Western radar and interception systems. The report indicates that Ansar Allah has also benefited from lessons learned by Iran and its allies during military confrontations with the United States and Israel, including missile attacks on vital bases and facilities in the Gulf.
Source: The Financial Time