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Makes you wonder where the technology came from. Here's one reference from [1] - > The Borkan is a modified Scud The newer models appear to be the originals,

Makes you wonder where the technology came from. Here's one reference from [1] - > The Borkan is a modified Scud The newer models appear to be the originals, but I find it hard to believe that Yemen could develop a radar-evading 1500km range drone on their own. Someone's helping them, no doubt. Any ideas who that might be? [1] https://www.mintpressnews.com/uae-yemen-troop-withdrawal-houthi-new-drones-missiles/260253/ https://www.mintpressnews.com/uae-yemen-troop-withdrawal-hou...

rapsey 7y ago
Iran obviously. That is their ally.
- alrs 7y ago
  ...or any country that wants to see the United States drawn into a proxy war for one of its client states in the Middle East. Or a country that wants to see oil prices rise in the short-term. Or a a country that wants to make European dependence on Saudi oil untenable, and put an end to the US sanctions regime. The US is now the world's largest oil exporter, so a limited confrontation that leads to picking up slack in the global oil market and selling more arms to Saudi Arabia is very much in its interest. It could be Iran, it could be others. It could be Iran and others, which is likely, because Iran doesn't have much money to spend right now.
  - rapsey 7y ago
    Only Russia is an alternative but I highly doubt they would do it. They would not go against SA and they have always kept Iran at a distance.
    - alrs 7y ago
      I think the only suspects you can take off the list are oil-importing US client states and the LDCs of the global south. The unipolar moment is over, a Great Game is again afoot.
  - audiometry 7y ago
    USA is not the largest exporter of oil at all. It scarcely exceeds 3mn/d. Saudi exports 7.0 currently and that’s restraining themselves.
    - rapsey 7y ago
      It is right up there with SA. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-12/u-s-beats-saudi-arabia-to-become-top-oil-exporter-on-shale-boom https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-12/u-s-beats...
      - audiometry 7y ago
        Well if you include NGLs ok (natural gas liquids). But not if you talk about crude oil, which is the valuable thing. NGL is waste product almost.
      - fspeech 7y ago
        You need to look at the numbers on a net basis: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2018/12/09/no-the-u-s-is-not-a-net-exporter-of-crude-oil/#1a57e1fc4ac1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2018/12/09/no-the-u-s-i...
      - audiometry 7y ago
        You can downvote me, but a bunch of US butane exports not going replace lost Arab medium, heavy crude.
pjc50 7y ago
Iran is generally believed to be supporting the Houthi rebels.
peterburkimsher 7y ago
Saudi isn't developing their weapons alone either. Via the Campaign Against Arms Trade website [1], Who is arming the Yemen war? An update. [2] "So far, the western countries with the largest arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, namely the USA, the UK, and France, have continued to sell arms to both countries" [1] https://www.caat.org.uk/resources/countries/yemen/news https://www.caat.org.uk/resources/countries/yemen/news [2] https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2019/03/19/who-is-arming-the-yemen-war-an-update/ https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2019/03/19/who-is-a...
baybal2 7y ago
You can download pixhawk from the internet, and locations of Saudi radars are publicly available (google maps)

rapsey 7y ago

Iran obviously. That is their ally.

alrs 7y ago
...or any country that wants to see the United States drawn into a proxy war for one of its client states in the Middle East. Or a country that wants to see oil prices rise in the short-term. Or a a country that wants to make European dependence on Saudi oil untenable, and put an end to the US sanctions regime. The US is now the world's largest oil exporter, so a limited confrontation that leads to picking up slack in the global oil market and selling more arms to Saudi Arabia is very much in its interest. It could be Iran, it could be others. It could be Iran and others, which is likely, because Iran doesn't have much money to spend right now.
- rapsey 7y ago
  Only Russia is an alternative but I highly doubt they would do it. They would not go against SA and they have always kept Iran at a distance.
  - alrs 7y ago
    I think the only suspects you can take off the list are oil-importing US client states and the LDCs of the global south. The unipolar moment is over, a Great Game is again afoot.
- audiometry 7y ago
  USA is not the largest exporter of oil at all. It scarcely exceeds 3mn/d. Saudi exports 7.0 currently and that’s restraining themselves.
  - rapsey 7y ago
    It is right up there with SA. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-12/u-s-beats-saudi-arabia-to-become-top-oil-exporter-on-shale-boom https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-12/u-s-beats...
    - audiometry 7y ago
      Well if you include NGLs ok (natural gas liquids). But not if you talk about crude oil, which is the valuable thing. NGL is waste product almost.
    - fspeech 7y ago
      You need to look at the numbers on a net basis: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2018/12/09/no-the-u-s-is-not-a-net-exporter-of-crude-oil/#1a57e1fc4ac1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2018/12/09/no-the-u-s-i...
    - audiometry 7y ago
      You can downvote me, but a bunch of US butane exports not going replace lost Arab medium, heavy crude.

pjc50 7y ago

Iran is generally believed to be supporting the Houthi rebels.

peterburkimsher 7y ago

Saudi isn't developing their weapons alone either. Via the Campaign Against Arms Trade website [1], Who is arming the Yemen war? An update. [2] "So far, the western countries with the largest arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, namely the USA, the UK, and France, have continued to sell arms to both countries" [1] https://www.caat.org.uk/resources/countries/yemen/news https://www.caat.org.uk/resources/countries/yemen/news [2] https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2019/03/19/who-is-arming-the-yemen-war-an-update/ https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2019/03/19/who-is-a...

baybal2 7y ago

You can download pixhawk from the internet, and locations of Saudi radars are publicly available (google maps)