Saudi, US Navy participate in mixed naval exercise ‘Marine Defender’ in Eastern Province

US Marine Corps General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. (C), commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) and Lt. Gen. Fahd bin Turki bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud (R), commander of the Arab coalition forces in Yemen, are shown reportedly Iranian weapons seized by Saudi forces from Yemen’s Houthi militia, during his visit to a military base in Al-Kharj in central Saudi Arabia. (File/AFP)

RIYADH: A Saudi-US naval exercise has been launched aimed to raise combat readiness to preserve the freedom of maritime navigation.
The mixed maritime exercise "Marine Defender" will start next week with the Saudi Royal Navy and its US counterpart, the US navy, hosted at the King Abdulaziz Naval Base.
The exercise will include assessing maritime security measures in the region and unifying concepts of naval combat work.
The exercises are an extension of a series of previous joint exercises and training between the two countries.