"They're trying to get what they want. They're trying to replace the West and, moreover, the United States in our access and influence across this crucial continent," US Africa Command chief Gen. Michael Langley told lawmakers.
From Operation Properity Guardian to Operation Aspides, dozens of countries are militarily active in the Red Sea, and sometimes wires get crossed.
The agreement speaks "volumes about EDGE’s resolve to develop sound domestic production capabilities of next-gen radar systems in the short term and to position itself as a competitive radar production hub regionally in the long run," one analyst told Breaking Defense.
Of a larger conflict, retired Lebanese Brig. Gen. Naji Mlaeb told Breaking Defense, "Hezbollah is ready but it doesn't want it, while Israel wants [it] but is not ready" to fight on two fronts. That may soon change.
Qatar indicated it was going with France's VBCI back in 2017, but as no final order has been signed, competition with fellow KNDS-produced vehicle Boxer is alive and well.
In 2019 the US State Department approved the sale of 60 PAC-3 MSE and 36 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM-T) missiles with canisters to Bahrain in a deal worth an estimated $2.5 billion.
A top official from state-owned Barzan Holdings told Breaking Defense the firm has invested with US-based SpinLaunch to fling satellites into orbit without the use of rockets.
Performance Marine Chairman Hassan Bin Jabor Al-Thani told Breaking Defense that Suhail is the first fully autonomous USV completely built in Doha.
One representative at Tehran's expansive booth told Breaking Defense the weapons are available to export to basically any country except the US and Israel.
The deal may have been announced in response to tensions in east Africa, but analysts told Breaking Defense it fits with Turkey's long investment in the region and its aim to be a maritime player beyond its shores.
The EU opted to start its own maritime security force in the Red Sea, despite a months-long established American-led effort. Analysts see evidence of fissures between Western partners.
"Foreign firms that are direct beneficiaries of lucrative Saudi government contracts will most likely be the first to relocate. [...] Firms who are invested in the Saudi market but do not have direct government dealings will likely try to bide themselves more time," one expert said.
EDGE will control 51 percent of the joint venture, giving it the right to produce Fincantierri's ships for the region.
The indigenously-produced fighter "reached an altitude of 8,000 feet and achieved a speed of 230 knots," according to a statement.
Speaking at Saudi Arabia's World Defense Show, EDGE Group's Hamad Al Marar told Breaking Defense provided updates on a number of EDGE iniatives, including a new deal with a Turkish drone maker.