US, Saudi military to conduct second counter-UAS drill in Riyadh next month

The US and Saudi Arabia will begin their second round of joint military exercises to counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) next month at a new testing center in Riyadh.

Red Sands 23.2 will be held at the Red Sands Integration Experimentation Center, which the US said would be an innovative approach to training and readiness between Washington and its Middle East partners.

Red Sands 23.2 is an exercise designed to test counter-UAS technologies in real-world conditions, Col. Armando Hernandez, a US Army Central Public Affairs Officer, said.

“This is the second iteration of the Red Sands Integration Experimentation Center concept, which is a forum to test and field counter-UAS systems, implement best practices, and increase interoperability between systems,” Col. Hernandez said.

Earlier this month, a social media post from the US Army showed soldiers loading equipment for the counter-drone exercise.

“The exercise is the second iteration of the Red Sands Integrated Experimentation Center concept to test emerging counter-UAS systems,” the US Army said.

In March, the initial exercise was the first of its kind between the two militaries, and US officials had said they hoped to replicate this with other armies in the region.