Temel Kotil, TAI’s general manager, claimed that the domestically-produced Turkish jet will outperform the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Despite optimistic talk from top diplomats in both the US and Saudi Arabia, regional experts don’t see any movement in the near term, due both to Riyadh’s demands and the Gaza conflict.

Though virtually none of the estimated 170 drones Iran launched at Israel got through defenses, analysts told Breaking Defense there’s an eager market globally for Tehran’s relatively cheap, normally effective UAVs.

Tehran has been increasingly public about its air defense capabilities, including showing off models of systems at a recent international defense expo.

Amid Iranian criticism, “Jordanian leaders have been very clear to portray their action as defensive and in protection of their own sovereignty rather than any act in support of Israel, and this is sincere,” an analyst told Breaking Defense.

“We are confident that this strategic expansion will bolster our operations and contribute to our sustained growth and success in Latin America,” Aselsan’s general manager, Ahmet Akyol, said in a statement.

The merger, in the works with US help, is part of what experts say is the Kingdom’s ambitious, if now-nascent defense space build-up.

Analyst Jean Marc Rickli told Breaking Defense that especially when it comes to the proliferation of UAVs, “one of the best ways to counter them is to jam their communication systems by cutting the link between them and the operator or the GPS signal.”

“The radar program will also prove critical for the nation’s advanced strategic drone programs,” one expert said.

“It also shows how dangerous it is to equip a networked actor such as the Houthis with such a capability. The consequences for regional security are problematic,” an analyst told Breaking Defense.

“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.