US awaits final $17 million repayment from Saudis for air refueling in Yemen war

A Saudi-led army coalition has absolutely reimbursed the Pentagon for one piece of America’s involvement in Yemen’s ongoing civil struggle, however one other $17 million sum stays unpaid greater than three years after the U.S. stopped some air assist for the battle.

Between March 2015 and November 2018, the Pentagon spent about $300 million to fly aerial refueling missions in assist of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and others engaged within the practically eight-year battle.

About $261 million of that funded the hourly prices of flying KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-10 Extender tanker planes, and one other $38 million went towards jet gasoline. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have shared the monetary burden.

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The Saudi kingdom closed out the debt for flying-hour prices in January 2021 with a $6.3 million cost to U.S. Central Command, Military Lt. Gen. Andrew Poppas, director of the Joint Workers, informed Senate Armed Providers Committee Chairman Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) in a November report. Air Power Occasions reviewed the report Tuesday.

The UAE had already coated about $104 million in flying hour prices, leaving the Saudis to foot one other $157 million in hourly charges. Emiratis additionally refunded $15 million for gasoline the U.S. offered in 2015 and 2016, the report mentioned.

With the flying-hour prices settled, Saudi Arabia nonetheless wanted to pay again $23 million for gasoline on behalf of the coalition. It shrank that steadiness to $17.2 million in July 2021, however the Pentagon mentioned in November it hadn’t acquired something for the reason that summer time.

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U.S. Central Command, the Protection Logistics Company and the Pentagon’s army coaching partnership in Saudi Arabia “are persevering with to hunt cost from the … Ministry of Protection for the remaining gasoline debt,” Poppas’s report mentioned in November.

Iran-linked Houthi rebels in Yemen have been embroiled in an effort to oust the federal government, which is backed by the Saudis and different Persian Gulf nations, since 2014. The Saudi-Iranian proxy struggle has killed a whole lot of hundreds of individuals and displaced greater than 3 million; 80% of Yemenis are in want of humanitarian assist.

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The U.S. army has offered intelligence and logistical assist to the Saudi-led coalition from the beginning. In 2018, the Pentagon and the Saudis mentioned American air refueling would come to an finish as a result of the dominion may deal with it by itself. Congress additionally handed laws barring U.S. involvement in Yemen, however then-President Donald Trump vetoed the proposal in 2019.

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As of the start of August 2016 — virtually 18 months into the struggle — U.S. KC-135s and KC-10s had flown greater than 1,100 sorties to pump 40.5 million kilos of gasoline into 5,525 receiving plane, Air Power Occasions reported on the time.

America continues to produce sources to the battle, equivalent to then-CENTCOM boss Gen. Frank McKenzie’s pledge in February to ship interceptors that block incoming Houthi missiles. Individuals are nonetheless preventing a parallel yearslong battle in opposition to the native al-Qaida offshoot in Yemen as nicely.

The civil struggle seems to be coming into a brand new section this week, after Yemen’s exiled head of state Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi ceded energy to a brand new presidential council and a two-month ceasefire gives a short respite. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pledged $3 billion to assist the transition.

“It is a council of peace, however additionally it is a council of protection and energy,” its chief Rashad al-Alimi mentioned Friday.