Crown Prince in shelter: Saudi army faces air defense crisis
Harici.com.tr 12.10.2026 15:55 Author
Saudi Arabia, which has exhausted preventive missile stocks in the face of airstrikes from Yemen, is replacing air defense batteries to protect palaces and energy facilities. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Ministry of Finance under the management of Riyadh, which was hit by airports and pipelines, predicts that the country's economy will shrink by 3.6 percent in 2026 due to war expenditures.
The Saudi Arabian administration is struggling to keep the defensive shield in the face of the increasing air operations of the Yemeni Armed Forces led by Ansarullah.
Saudi officials reported that stocks of preventive air defense ammunition used to block incoming missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles have been dangerously depleted.
According to the news published by The Wall Street Journal newspaper, 41-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continues to contact by changing places between palaces equipped with shelters and heavily protected due to security risks.
Providing information about the security protocols of the Crown Prince, the authorities said that Mohammed bin Salman was protected by a specially trained guard team.
The Saudi Crown Prince finally participated in the national blood donation campaign on Tuesday and appeared in public when he was giving blood.
Riyadh is changing the location of defense batteries
Sources who closely follow Saudi defense planning stated that the Riyadh administration cannot provide air protection at the same time to all of its wide geographical borders.
Authorities noted that they deployed the limited number of air defense batteries in hand by sliding between royal palaces and critical energy infrastructure facilities.
The attacks on the capital Riyadh, which is located at least 500 miles (about 800 kilometers) from the Ansarullah-controlled areas in Yemen, have caused conflict conditions in some parts of the city center.
Upon the explosions echoing one after another in different neighborhoods of the capital, the residents of the city went down to the shelters of the buildings.
Shrapnel and debris of a ballistic missile, which was prevented in the air during the week, damaged a kindergarten and health complex in the capital.
Following the developments, company employees in the financial center, students studying in some international schools in the region and diplomatic mission personnel were called for evacuation or asylum in safe areas.
At least 12 people died in airport attacks
In the attacks held over the weekend, at least one missile hit King Khalid International Airport, which is considered the main entrance gate of the capital.
At least 12 people lost their lives in the explosions directly targeting the terminals, and hundreds of people, many of whom were in serious conditions, were injured.
While serious damage occurred in the two terminals of the airport, some of the roofs collapsed.
Authorities said the airstrikes on the airport, which was closed to flights on Sunday, continued, and an ammunition that hit terminal 4 caused new injuries and fires.
The Ensarullah military spokesman repeated its statement on Sunday and announced that all airports in Saudi Arabia are within a legitimate target area for them.
“The risk of asymmetric conflict is growing”
Saudi authorities claimed that the security situation on the Yemeni border was completely under control in interviews they gave to the international press in the past summer.
In response, the Yemeni Armed Forces, which announced that they were responding directly to Saudi Arabia's military steps, hit Saudi Arabia's main East-West oil pipeline and giant refinery facilities as well as civilian airports.
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Gulf researcher at the Rice University Baker Institute, stated that the options at the hands of the Saudi leadership are extremely narrowed.
“Any military retaliatory step that Riyadh will take increases the risk of being drawn into an asymmetrical cycle of conflict, in which Ansarullah has the capacity to cause both symbolic and physical heavy damage,” Ulrichsen said.
US President Donald Trump said in a statement at the weekend that Washington kept the channels of contact with Ensarullah open.
On the other hand, Trump, who implied that the US military could be involved in the military operations carried out by Saudi Arabia, said in his assessment on Saturday night that "What they did was very bad" for the Yemen-centered attacks.
Ministry: "The economy will shrink by 3.6 percent this year"
Ongoing military conflicts are hitting Crown Prince's goal of reducing dependence on oil and placing the tourism and travel sector at the center of development.
It is not yet certain whether the international investment summit, which is expected to be held at the end of this month, will be held hosted by Riyadh.
While rising military spending shakes the budget balance, the Ministry of Finance of Saudi Arabia expects the country's economy to shrink by 3.6 percent in 2026.
Capital Economics data also revealed that the economy experienced a contraction in the non-oil producer sectors compared to the first quarter in the second quarter.
Foreign direct investments entering the country decreased in the first two quarters of the year and fell far below the levels determined in the Crown Prince's Vision 2030 targets.
Rising defense and infrastructure repair costs pose a danger of melting public resources allocated to economic diversification moves.
The fact that data centers, which play a critical role in terms of the goals of establishing artificial intelligence and technology centers, become targets in air strikes, increases the risk premium for digital investments.
Due to economic pressure, Saudi Arabia decided to withdraw from hosting the 2029 Asian Winter Games in January.
The Kingdom's administration is exploring ways to create funding for the 2034 FIFA World Cup projects with the 2030 World Expo fair in the face of the current cost table.
Search for air defense in Pakistan and the world market
Mohammed bin Salman's $1 trillion in giant investment commitment to the USA and his close contacts with the Donald Trump administration were not enough to bring the desired military support.
The Washington administration simply sent only military advisers to the field while avoiding a comprehensive direct military intervention that would break Ansarullah's operational pressure.
Saudi military sources said it requested urgent support from Pakistan, its close ally of Riyadh, which wants to close the defense gap, and is looking for urgent delivery air defense systems in the global market.
It was noted that Saudi authorities are also trying to provide foreign fighters in order to provide support to local elements with whom they act together in the Yemen area.
The Riyadh administration is simultaneously probing the diplomatic solution channels of these military quests to get out of the conflict environment that is difficult to control