Saudi missile program

Yet the Saudis have consistently taken the position that they need to match Iran's missile capability and have at times sought help on the side from other countries, including China, which is not a signatory to the pact. Saudi Arabia is known to have purchased ballistic missiles from China several decades ago, and public reports speculated that more purchases may have been made as recently as The Kingdom has never been assessed to have the ability to build its own missiles or even effectively deploy the ones it does have.

Instead, the Saudis' arsenal of Chinese-made ballistic missiles was a way to signal its potential military strength to regional foes, primarily Iran. That, the sources told CNN, has shifted based on the new intelligence. US-supplied air power. For decades, the US worked to ensure that Saudi Arabia had air supremacy in the region, largely through its purchases of American military aircraft, precisely so that it wouldn't seek to go around the US to upgrade its missile capabilities.

It already has a significant conventional military advantage," said Behnam Taleblu of the Washington-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies. But questions have arisen in recent months about whether that rationale still stands, particularly as the Trump administration has pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and the Kingdom faces ballistic missile threats from Iran proxies in Yemen.

Satellite imagery, first reported by the Washington Post in January, suggested the Kingdom had constructed a ballistic missile factory. Analysts who viewed the images said they appeared to match technology produced by the Chinese. Satellite imagery captured on November 13, shows a suspected ballistic missile factory at a missile base in al-Watah, Saudi Arabia.

A second image of the same missile facility obtained by CNN shows a similar level of activity at the site on May 14, , according to Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute.

The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on any intelligence related to Saudi Arabia's ballistic missile activity or whether the US believes the Kingdom is contracting in that area with foreign partners. A spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in the US did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that China and Saudi Arabia are "comprehensive strategic partners," and that both countries "maintain friendly cooperation in all areas, including in the area of arms sales.

Such cooperation does not violate any international laws, nor does it involve the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Trump shouldn't take the bait. A State Department official declined to comment on classified intelligence matters, but told CNN that Saudi Arabia remains a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has accepted an obligation never to acquire nuclear weapons. The spokesperson also pointed to a recent statement by a US State Department official reaffirming the US commitment to "the goal of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction and delivery systems.

Sources said there has been no indication from the administration that there has been an explicit policy shift as it relates to non-proliferation of ballistic missiles in Saudi, but noted the administration's awareness of the intelligence -- and lack of concrete action to halt the advances since it was obtained.

Beyond satellite imagery. US intelligence agencies constantly monitor foreign ballistic missile development and the flow of materials around the world.

Related intelligence is analyzed on a daily basis and any significant change would likely make it into the Presidential Daily Briefing, according to two former senior US intelligence officials.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has been given access to the Saudi intelligence, though it has not received a specific briefing on the subject, according to two sources familiar with the matter. But the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has oversight of the State Department and US foreign policy broadly, learned about the Saudi intelligence earlier this year only after it was discovered by Democratic staff on the committee, including in one instance when a staff member on an unrelated trip to the Middle East was informed of details through a foreign counterpart, two of the sources told CNN.

No matter how U. If you have issues subscribing please click here. Saudi leaders are developing their own missile capabilities rather than rely on a U. China has been a supplier of ballistic missiles to the Kingdom in the past and represents a natural partner to assist the new Saudi program.

The Saudi missile program will introduce new tensions into U. S-Saudi relations. Britain on Friday condemned a launch of ballistic missiles by Iran in war games conducted this week. In , former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear accord and re-imposed crippling sanctions on Iran. Tehran has since reduced its compliance with the deal, announcing that it would enrich uranium to up to 60 percent purity — significantly closer to the amount needed to make an atomic bomb.

The crown prince is attempting to transform Saudi Arabia from an oil-dependent nation into an economic powerhouse that is more accepted in the West. The Saudis have long been U. Meanwhile, the continued close military relationship between Saudi Arabia and China will also probably be of concern to the Biden administration as it tries to manage a complex and fraught relationship with Beijing, criticizing its human rights record while also cooperating with Chinese leaders on major global threats like climate change and the Covid pandemic.

Solid-propellant missile production facilities often have burn pits where leftover propellant can be disposed of by burning. Still, little is known about the ballistic missiles that Saudi Arabia is building at this site, including important details like range and payload.

Considering the facility in question was built with Chinese assistance and new intelligence assessments showing Saudi Arabia has recently purchased sensitive ballistic missile technology from China, it is possible that the missiles being produced there are of Chinese design, according to Lewis.

But there is also evidence Saudi Arabia has looked to other countries for help with developing a ballistic missile program in recent years, making it difficult to identify exactly which weapons system the Kingdom is now building at this facility, Lewis noted.

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