A Boeing executive said the Saudis have successful used their F-15SA to “kill” cruise missiles fired by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen, a missile defense capability that the Kingdom needs.
"The Saudis might be demonstrating that they can go to other sources and solutions for air defense through building on the worsening of US-Turkish relations, at the heart of which is US unhappiness over Turkish acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defense system,” Yezid Sayegh, senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, says.
Government can’t stop to update systems, so modernization has to happen without interruptions.