RIYADH: Lt. Gen. Fayyadh Al-Ruwaili, the Saudi chief of the general staff, and Gen. Michael Kurilla, commander of US Central Command, attended a joint military exercise their forces were taking part in on Wednesday.

Al-Ruwaili was briefed on the objectives of the exercise, called Red Sands 2, the capabilities of the participating Saudi and US armed forces, and the tasks assigned to them, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Brig. Gen. Mohammed Al-Maliki said the aim of the three-day drill, at the Red Sands Integration Experimentation Center in Riyadh, was to strengthen military cooperation and bolster the ability of the Saudi Armed Forces to respond to threats. It focused on methods for detecting and responding to the use of unmanned aircraft systems, as well as the use of other weaponry, radar jamming and deception, and artificial intelligence, he added.