▲ King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which came under an airstrike.
Saudi Arabia has launched an internal investigation into why its air defense systems failed to block missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels, the Associated Press reported on the 13th (local time).
The move appears to reflect a serious realization of vulnerabilities in its air defense posture following a major Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on the 10th, which resulted in 13 deaths and over 300 injuries.
While the Saudi military has previously emphasized and announced that it intercepted most Houthi airstrikes, the recent large-scale casualties effectively amount to acknowledging a response failure.
The distance from the Houthi rebels' missile launch site to Riyadh is about 1,000 kilometers, a range that the fastest ballistic missiles can cover in just a few minutes.
The time required for a Patriot air defense system to detect and intercept a ballistic missile is around tens of seconds, and this window shrinks as the missile's flight distance increases.
Cruise missiles are known to typically require about a minute and a half for interception.
Citing sources, the AP reported that preliminary investigation results show the Houthi rebels first launched multiple drones to jam the air defense network before firing a mix of ballistic and cruise missiles at King Khalid International Airport.
It added that the Houthis possess advanced weapons equipped with maneuvering warheads that change direction mid-flight alongside ballistic missiles, making it difficult for Saudi Arabia's Patriot air defense systems to intercept them.
Saudi analyst Ali Shihabi told Reuters, "Saudi Arabia is a large country with too much to protect, such as airports, oil pipelines, and oil facilities. The air defense network is not wide enough to defend everywhere at once, and there are shortages of Patriot air defense systems, interceptor missiles, and missile batteries to do so."
One source told the AP that the reason no air raid alerts were issued despite Riyadh being the primary target of the airstrike is also under investigation.
Two Western officials pointed out to Reuters that there had been no nationwide air raid alerts from the beginning of the month until the 12th, during which time Riyadh was attacked about 12 times.
According to alert details verified by Reuters and three knowledgeable individuals, Western embassies in Saudi Arabia have been sending their own missile and drone alerts to staff by synthesizing information from Western governments and Saudi authorities.
In connection with this, Middle Eastern officials and political analysts stated, "Questions have been raised about how vulnerable Saudi Arabia is and whether it has the capacity to protect residents and visitors," adding, "They are trying to maintain a sense of normalcy."
This suggests that air raid alerts have been withheld to project an image of calm to domestic citizens and the international community.
Two Saudi officials told Reuters, "Before last week's airport attack, officials from a Western ally's government asked Saudi authorities why the alerts had been suspended," adding, "The Saudi side reportedly replied that the alerts caused too much disruption to citizens' daily lives."
In response to the recent series of airstrikes, the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia decided to close King Khalid International Airport until midnight on the 18th, local time.
Aircraft are currently rerouting around Saudi airspace, and flights bound for Riyadh are landing at Jeddah Airport.
Delta Air Lines of the United States postponed its Atlanta-Riyadh route, which was scheduled to launch on the 23rd of this month, to March of next year, citing the situation and security concerns in the Middle East.
This route is the first direct flight to Saudi Arabia operated directly by a U.S. airline.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
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