Top-secret sources revealed that tension has been escalating between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ) over a number of strategic files, primarily the Yemeni file, especially since Saudi Arabia resumed talks with the Islah Party.
According to the sources, these differences have resulted in a chilling of relations between the two Gulf nations. Last month’s scheduled meeting between Tahnoon bin Zayed, the Emirati National Security Advisor, and Khaled Al-Humaidan, the head of the Saudi intelligence service, was postponed. MBS also skipped a gathering between the heads of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) last January, and another meeting organized by MBZ in the Saadiyat island in Abu Dhabi. On the other hand, MBZ abstained from the GCC leaders’ summit that took place in Riyadh in December.
Saudi Arabia declared its war on Yemen in 2015 and said it would last for a few months. The Kingdom bet on its military forces and Gulf allies. However, the war has resulted in heavy military and economic losses.
MBS repeatedly said that his war with the Houthis would only last a few days. The actual military losses, however, are much higher than those declared.
Yemeni air defenses shot down 20 Saudi drones in 2021, including the following:
– 11 US-made Scan Eagle aircraft, each costs US$3 million
– US-made MQ-9 Reaper, each costs US$11 million
– 4 Chinese-made UAV CH4, each costs US$1 million
– 2 Chinese-made LNG LOoNG aircraft, each costs US$1 million
The sources further pointed out that an interceptor missile for the Patriot system costs approximately $3 million per round, and the launchers cost about $21 million each.
The monthly cost of the aircraft participating in Yemen war is estimated at $230 million, i.e. more than $8 billion in three years, while Boeing E-3A Airborne Warning & Control System (AWACS) aircraft costs $250,000 per hour, i.e. more than $1 billion annually.
Two satellites for military purposes costed $1.8 billion in the first six months of the war. Earth-observing satellite constellation cost up to $10 million per day, or $300 million per month. The use of two warships, followed by 6 accompanying frigates, costs Saudi Arabia $300 million per day.
Since the start of the Yemen war, Saudi Arabia’s military spending increased to reach an estimated $63 billion, placing it third in the world.
Saudi Arabia has spent a fortune buying arms from America to prosecute a war that has killed almost a quarter of a million people — the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe in our lifetime. However, no real achievement was reported, as Saudi Arabia failed to stop Houthi attacks on the Kingdom.
