‘Thunder’ in Saudi desert as military drill concludes

Hafar Al Batin : Warplanes roared overhead, tanks rumbled across the desert and smoke filled the sky yesterday for the final day of the region’s biggest-ever military exercises. 

The 12-day “Operation North Thunder” manoeuvres in the Saudi Arabia’s northeast included 20 nations from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, Saudi officials said.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was joined by several foreign leaders for the final day of the exercise. Among them were Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, Yemen’s Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

As the dignitaries watched from a pavilion, Apache gunships fired rockets with a bone-shaking blast. Smoke rose from targets on the ground and commandos rappelled from helicopters.

Fighter jets streaked through the sky releasing orange flares, artillery shells whistled through the air and heavy machinegun fire boomed from across the drill site, which stretched for dozens of kilometres (miles). The exercises took place near Hafr al-Batin city, close to the Kuwaiti and Iraq borders.

Saudi Arabia’s Chief of Staff, General Abdulrahman al-Bunyan, commanded the exercise and called it “the largest Arab and Islamic military gathering” in the region. 

Officials have said the new coalition would gather in the Kingdom this month for its first publicly announced meeting.

According to the International Institute of Strategic Studies, Saudi Arabia has the best equipped military of Gulf countries, with an army of 75,000 troops and 313 combat-capable aircraft. 

Caption : His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; Saudi Arabia’s King King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud; Bahrain Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa; Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi; Qatar Emir Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani and other dignitaries witness the conclusion of the Northern Thunder exercise near King Khalid Military City in Saudi Arabia. The exercise displayed artillery, tanks, air defence systems, warships, and naval forces, with the participation of nearly 350,000 ground troops.