Despite Saudi Arabia spending roughly $83 billion on defense yearly, why can’t it fight a much poorer opponent like Ansarallah?

Murtaza Hussain says that the problem is not military gear but institutions.

Saudi Arabia has spent enormous sums building a technologically advanced military while simultaneously designing its security institutions around another priority: protecting the monarchy.

And ou can’t buy decades of combat experience, decentralized command, competent NCOs, maintenance culture and battlefield initiative.

A military designed to minimize the risk of coups and political instability isn’t necessarily a military optimized for decentralized, adaptive warfare.