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A poster of the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with the slogan "God protect you"
Photo: IBRAHIM CHALHOUB / AFP
According to a report, US intelligence services assume that Saudi Arabia is able to build its own military missiles.
The US broadcaster CNN reported, citing people familiar with the findings.
The People's Republic of China should help with the project.
Accordingly, there are satellite images that should show at least one production facility - as well as evidence of a lively exchange of technology for building ballistic missiles between Riyadh and Beijing. The pictures show a military complex near Dawadmi, a city a good 220 kilometers east of the capital Riyadh. The plant is said to have been built with Chinese help.
Military experts have evaluated the satellite images from Dawadmi on behalf of CNN.
Among other things, they show depots that are traditionally used to dispose of the remaining, highly explosive propellant in the production of rockets.
They are "the first clear evidence that the facility was put into operation to manufacture missiles."
Neither the White House nor the Saudi Arabian embassy in the US confirmed the CNN report.
The CIA did not comment either.
Ally and warmonger
Saudi Arabia is considered to be an important Western ally in the Gulf region, and so far the kingdom has received its weapons from Western arms exports, including Germany.
At the same time, the country is fueling conflicts in the region and participating in proxy wars against the archenemy Iran - especially in Syria and Yemen.
In Yemen, war has been raging for around seven years between the Riyadh-supported troops of President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi and the Shiite Houthi rebels supported by Iran.
Tens of thousands of people were killed.
80 percent of the country's inhabitants on the Arabian Peninsula are dependent on humanitarian aid.
According to UN data, more than half of the population are affected by acute hunger.
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