In Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, international workers, civilians, women and children pack the airport, exhausted from conflict and relieved to be going home. Thousands are being evacuated from the shelling, the bombing and the gunshots. But their flights have to be coordinated with the military of neighboring Saudi Arabia, because it's leading the airstrikes against the Houthi rebels that have taken over Yemen's government. Hundreds have been killed in the fighting. The Houthis are allied with Iran. Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region want to kick out the rebels and reinstate Yemen's deposed president. The Saudis' firepower is immense.

 

Saudi Arabia is the best funded armed force in the Gulf region, with training and operational ties to the U.S., U.K. and France. According to The Institute of Strategic Studies, in 2014, the country's defense expenditure was 80.8 billion. That's ten percent of the country's GDP and the third largest defense budget in the world. Its military force is made up of 227,000 active members. The army has 75,000 troops, but its biggest ground force is the 100,000 strong national guard, made up largely of tribal-based militia. The primary mission of this force is to protect the royal family from internal conflicts. But their involvement in the liberation of Kuwait in the 1990s showed that it can also be deployed as an external force when the security of the country is threatened.Saudi Arabia also boasts a 13,500 person navy and an air force of 20,000 people. The fleet comprises U.S.-produced F-15 fighter planes, European-developed Tornadoes and Eurofighter Typhoons.

 

The Saudi forces are also equipped with American-made AH-64 Apache helicopters, 315 M1A2 Abrams tanks and it has recently invested heavily in anti-tank missiles. The Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force has also seen heavy investment in recent years, equipped with Chinese-made DF-21s and DF-3 delivery systems, built to launch long distance, high explosive warheads.

 

Of all the main players in the Gulf region, the Saudi military is considered to be the best armed, benefiting greatly from funds gained through the country's vast oil wealth.