WTF? The Saudis have AWACS! We sold it to them. Put 2 of them up, along with 100 fighters, for a week straight to keep anything else from getting through.
“WTF? The Saudis have AWACS! We sold it to them. Put 2 of them up, along with 100 fighters, for a week straight to keep anything else from getting through.”
Because they also suck at CAP (combat air patrol) and C4 (command, control, communication, coordination). If they were even minimally competent, they’d have caught slow-moving drones and relatively slow cruise missiles well away from any strategically important sites, like maybe oil refineries making up HALF their refining capacity.
Even if those drones and cruise missiles were flying nap of the earth they could have been detected. But the Saudis suck at both the offense and the defense, so there’s always that to consider... ;-)
The US has the entire gulf covered with the most advanced radars in the world, in addition to airborne UAVs 24x7 with IR sensors with at least a 500nm range.
And satellite coverage with advanced sensors.
We have two large airbases in the region and several ships.
US forces absolutely detected a launch of this size and magnitude.
I think POTUS is being coy. He needs our Gulf “allies” to wake up to the reality of their precarious position. They fear war with Iran because they know Iran can shut down their production.
Trump just showed them Iran will do it anyway.