Mr Hanley reports that a certain Brig. Gen. Daniel M. Dick who is the commander of a new U.S. air base near Al Kharj in central Saudi Arabia didn't know about them and said that his pilots who fly every day hadn't seen them. Mr. Hanley suggests that that is because the launch sites are to the south in the Empty Quarter. The missiles were bought when Washington was unhappy about supplying F-15s. A separate contract for Chinese crews.
Reports are confused.
Mr. Hanley reports that when news of these leaked in March '88, Israel wanted a pre-emptive airstrike and Washington urged the Saudis to return them. Prince Bander met with Colin Powell and apparently defused the situation. The missiles metaphorically dropped from sight. The Chinese are apparently still on duty. An Israeli missile specialist, Gerald M. Steinberg is quoted as saying that the ignition assembly for the liquid-fueled missiles is a special problem and that the missiles themselves must be thoroughly maintained at all times or they could blow up.