Most of those spare parts are now made in KSA.. that was a smart move for a while now..beside buying them in huge quantities when the deals were signed..
Biden announces it against Saudi Arabia, and the kingdom responds by leaking pictures of Chinese weapons being purchased and made in KSA..
The US needs the KSA/GCC, as much as they need the US.
No regional power can conquer or win any wars against KSA/GCC. Nor does KSA/GCC have any enemies other than the current Iranian Mullah regime that is self-imploding and who are not a military threat to the KSA/GCC (any Iranian attack will destroy Iran).
Most critical military projects of KSA (domestic ballistic missile program, drones, nuclear, uranium extraction, ongoing Saudi Vision 2030 goal of 50% of all military needs being made domestically) are not dependent on the West at all.
In fact the most pressing needs of KSA are the Patriots and THAAD (defense systems) but KSA recently signed deals with local production in both cases. Also KSA deploys foreign systems, including Chinese systems. The Russians are also ready to sell their best defense systems as well. UK, Germany, France etc. are ready to do business as well. The days of the US having a weapons export monopoly are long gone.
Most importantly KSA/GCC's economies are booming while the Western economy is in recession, deep crisis and record-high inflation. They need Arab money and won't put up obstacles.
They want a piece of the cake that is the largest economy in the region (KSA) and a booming defense market that is ready to cooperate.
KSA can sell its own products without the need or approval of any foreign actor. KSA stopped taking Biden and US policy seriously ages ago under MbS. Since when is Biden going to dictate how much oil any oil producer must produce? The idea of that is ridiculous. KSA is looking for its own interests first and foremost like any nation state. This is the ABC of international relations.
As for sanctions, KSA is one of the least sanction-effective countries on the planet for reasons that are too obvious to state.
We have a secret weapon, his name is Lu, Donald Lu..the regime change specialist ..cue 007 music.
On a serious note, If you listen to the ARAMCO chief he's been saying there has been very little investment in new discoveries since 2014. The Arabs are hoping to push oil prices up so they can make massive investments in looking for and developing new assets. People forget that the Arabs rely heavily on western technology in upstream and downstream O&G exploration and production. Also we are close to cheap clean energy solution at scale, I'd say a decade or two - a narrow window for the Arabs to maximize returns from their O&G resources. The Saudis have been repeating the above message to the Biden administration since Biden took office. But Biden doesn't want to hear any of it and now the Arabs have taken a hard stance. Add to that the Arabs have been lobbying to prolong Iranian isolation and are using energy exports as a bargaining chip.
In terms of options there are plenty. If the West can bring Putin to his knees then MBS is chump change in comparison.
The delusion is high with this one. KSA's oil and gas industry is almost completley self-suffiicent as of 2022. You are 3-4 decades behind.
The lawsuits will pave way to asset seizures. But the US needs OPEC and not the other way around. And Saudis are betting that the incoming Republican congress will be much more friendly.
Most of KSA's assests in the US have been withheld pre-Covid 19 and during it. Read many reports about that.
www.cnbc.com
