(MENAFN) US and Saudi military units have finalized the most extensive live-fire counter-drone drill ever conducted in the Middle East, US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Wednesday.

The multi-day exercise took place at the Red Sands Integrated Experimentation Center in Saudi Arabia, beginning on Sept. 7 at the Shamal-2 Range.

It involved more than 300 personnel operating 20 counter-unmanned aerial systems, according to a statement shared on the US social media company X’s platform.

The drill coincided with a visit Tuesday by Admiral Brad Cooper, the newly appointed CENTCOM commander, marking his first regional trip since assuming leadership. Cooper was accompanied by Gen. Fayyadh bin Hamed Raqed Al-Ruwaili, Chief of the General Staff for the Royal Saudi Armed Forces, at Red Sands.

“Threats posed by the proliferation of advanced drones are a pressing challenge,” Cooper stated. “Working shoulder-to-shoulder with regional partners to innovate and adapt is more critical than ever.”

The US military has consistently highlighted the dangers from Iran and its affiliates, who have deployed thousands of one-way attack drones and missiles in recent years, resulting in civilian casualties, disrupted maritime traffic, and regional instability.

CENTCOM noted that this year’s Red Sands exercise—the fourth since its 2023 debut—demonstrated improvements in rapid prototyping and integrated defensive strategies.

US and Saudi forces connected radar and sensors, including the Signal Hunter, a wearable geolocation device, and the Buffer Passive Acoustic Detection System (BPADS), to quickly detect simulated aerial threats.

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