A new training facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is bolstering regional co-operation on counter-unmanned-aerial-vehicle (UAV) tactics.

In a first-of-its-kind training operation, the United States and Saudi Arabia conducted a joint counter-drone exercise in March at the Red Sands Experimentation Center in Riyadh, US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla told the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee at the time.

The new military testing center has been billed by the US military as an innovative approach to training and readiness between Washington and its Middle East partners.

An official with knowledge of the exercise told Al-Arabiya the March exercise focused on countering small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

The drills involved live-fire exercises, and participants studied complex threats and identified weaknesses in other areas to counter drone operations, Kurilla told the committee.

Countering drone threats

The proliferation of drone technology is dramatically shifting power dynamics in the Middle East -- and as a result, decades-old military strategies are adapting.

Armed UAVs, commonly known as drones, are playing an increasingly visible role in conflicts around the world and especially in the Middle East and North Africa, according to the Middle East Institute (MEI).

Iran is a major producer and exporter of drones. It also pushes out UAV equipment and training to an expanding network of proxy and partner networks in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

The September 2019 drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq and Khurais oil installations, claimed by Yemen's Houthis, were linked to Iran by debris at the scene.

For Riyadh, the attacks drove home the immediate need to develop drone and anti-drone capabilities. US and Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) regional militaries have been working together to counter the rapidly evolving threat from weaponized drones, which undermines security in the Gulf region.

"The Iranian regime now holds the largest and most capable unmanned aerial vehicle force in the region," Kurilla told the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee in March.

"They are building larger drones that can fly further with increasingly deadly payloads."

On August 22, Iran unveiled its latest domestically built drone, Mohajer-10, which has enhanced weapon capabilities and can fly at a higher altitude and for a longer duration than its predecessors.

The new drone is an upgraded version of the Mohajer-6, which Iran has been accused of selling to Russia for use in its war on Ukraine.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have a longstanding security relationship, and Saudi Arabia is the United States' largest foreign military sales customer, according to the US Department of State.

The two countries "share a common interest in preserving the stability, security and prosperity of the Gulf region," according to a May 2022 State Department fact sheet.

The exercise at Red Sands shows continued US commitment to Saudi Arabia in a way that extends beyond traditional security assistance like foreign military sales, Melissa Horvath, a non-resident senior fellow at MEI, told Al-Arabiya.

The Red Sands drills demonstrate the value of partnering with the United States and the superiority of US technology in countering UAS threats, Horvath said.

"The United States should be looking to remain the partner of choice in the region," she said.

Testing ground for new technology

The Red Sands Experimentation Center, operated by CENTCOM, will test new technologies to counter the growing threat from drones, according to a NBC News report last September outlining plans for the facility.

Red Sands will also develop and test integrated air and missile defense capabilities, it said.

Moving forward, the Red Sands facility is intended to serve as an innovation lab to combat the rising threat from rockets and drones.

Partners will collaborate there to train on different systems, which can then be integrated to build defensive and offensive networks.

The facility will allow for increased interoperability between the United States and their partners in order to "counter a wide variety of unmanned aerial systems and threats," CENTCOM spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn told Al-Arabiya in September.

The concept for the facility was developed as Washington seeks to enhance strategic partnerships in the region, he said.

Sources familiar with the matter said the testing center was discussed during US President Joe Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia in August 2022.

The facility will be a "shining example that co-operation and innovation are paramount to both our partners and to US Central Command, in support of our shared vision for a peaceful and prosperous Middle East," Eastburn said.

The facility signals CENTCOM's focus on emerging technology and partnerships, and will "be a major element of ... Kurilla's three-pronged strategic approach that prioritizes 'People, Partnerships and Innovation,'" Horvath wrote last October for the MEI.

"Long-term cooperative projects like the Red Sands Integrated Experimentation Center strengthen relationships, counter great power influence, and help our partners modernize and integrate their systems to defend against the most challenging regional threats," Horvath wrote.