Saudi Arabia has launched a probe to determine how its air defenses failed to intercept a barrage of missiles and drones fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, including an attack on Riyadh airport that killed at least 13 people and wounded over 300.
Preliminary findings from two regional officials suggest the Houthis first deployed several drones to bypass defenses before launching a combination of cruise and ballistic missiles toward King Khalid International Airport. The Houthi forces possess ballistic weaponry with advanced warheads capable of altering trajectory during flight, posing significant challenges for Saudi Arabia’s Patriot interceptors and associated defense networks. The inquiry is examining why detection networks failed to issue timely warnings, given that the projectiles travelled more than 1,000 kilometres across the region before reaching the capital.
The incident is part of a broader sequence of Houthi strikes on Saudi airports since last week, exposing vulnerabilities in the kingdom’s defense structure and signalling a dangerous turn in an expanding Middle East conflict that began more than seven months ago when the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran. The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh on Monday, and civil defence authorities announced that the immediate threat had passed after three detonations echoed across the city.
Saudi officials want more U.S. help in countering Houthi attacks. The U.S. has provided intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for a Saudi-led offensive but has held off on carrying out strikes against the Houthis. A U.S. intervention could prompt the Houthis to try to halt shipping through the Bab el‑Mandeb Strait, restricting the flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf, a region already complicated by Iranian efforts to choke off the Strait of Hormuz.
