Saudi Arabia and France continue joint military exercises

Saudi Arabia and France on Sunday have continued their combined military exercises - focusing on mountain warfare - starting on Thursday.

The air and ground drill, which was observed by Saudi’s deputy defense minister Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, was carried by the Royal Saudi Land Forces and its French counterpart to train soldiers on offensives in al-Sirwat mountain range in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Warfare on rugged mountainous areas is considered to be the most challenging as waging warfare in hilly terrain requires a higher degree of physical endurance and technical know-how.

Black Hawk helicopters were used in the drill to train soldiers on evacuating the rugged terrain in case of emergencies.

Maj. Gen. Prince Fahad bin Turki Abdulaziz al-Saud, Deputy Commander of the Ground Forces, Commander of the Paratrooper Units and Special Forces said “training with the French has been concentrated on and planned for.”

He highlighted that there “will be other drills with Jordan and the United States.”

Meanwhile, French officer Christian Vadim hailed Saudi soldiers for their aptitude.

He said that “they are talented and know how to use their weaponry. They are also very keen to learn from the French soldiers.”

The upcoming drills will transfer the joint French-Saudi training from Shamrakh mountains in Saudi Arabia to the French Alps, for Saudi soldiers to know more about other mountainous areas, and to give both sides more experience on such warfare.