Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The mixed naval exercise “Red Wave 8” concluded at King Faisal Naval Base in the Western Fleet, in the presence of Royal Saudi Naval Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Mohammed Al-Ghuraibi, Director General of the Border Guard Lt. Gen. Shaya Al-Wadaani, and senior commanders from participating countries.

Hosted by the Royal Saudi Naval Forces, the drill included participation from the Kingdom’s land and air forces, units from the Ministry of Interior’s Border Guard, and naval forces from Red Sea littoral states including Jordan, Egypt, Djibouti, Sudan, and Yemen.

Participating vessels carried out a series of advanced maritime maneuvers involving anti-submarine warfare, electronic warfare, surface and air defense operations, live-fire targeting of surface and aerial threats, maritime security missions, and counter-UAV boat operations, using modern defensive systems and naval craft.

The exercise also included field scenarios such as amphibious landings, urban combat, coastal defense operations, reconnaissance, raids on coastal targets, counterterrorism drills, hostage rescue missions, mine clearance, and handling unexploded ordnance.

Naval Aviation aircraft (MH60R) conducted live-fire operations against surface targets, alongside small- and medium-arms live-fire training.

Exercise Director Rear Adm. Abdullah Al-Anzi said the drill achieved its objectives by enhancing the participating countries’ capabilities to deter shared regional threats, strengthening coordination in intelligence and security information sharing, and supporting collective maritime security.

He added that Red Wave 8 helped unify operational concepts and reinforce joint action among participating forces, boosting their readiness to operate in realistic combat environments and confront irregular maritime threats with high efficiency and professionalism.