PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 14th, 2026: Houthis Target Saudi Air Base & Russia’s Drone Evolution

Mike Baker (0:12)

It's Monday, the 14th of September. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. First up, our focus is on the Red Sea, where the Iranian-backed Houthis continue to aggressively target the Saudi Kingdom, this time claiming a massive missile and drone attack on a major Saudi air base. Later in the show, we'll look at how Russia is turning cheap drones into increasingly capable weapons faster than Ukraine and the West can adapt. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.

This morning, we told you that the Houthis had seized a foothold inside the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, putting the Iran-backed militia in a much stronger position to threaten Saudi shipping through the Red Sea. Well, less than 24 hours later, the situation has escalated again. The Houthis now say they launched dozens of missiles and drones at one of Saudi Arabia's most important military installations. According to the militia, the attack targeted King Khalid Air Base in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The Houthis claim they went after aircraft hangars, radar installations, ammunition depots and other military facilities located at the base.

Now, Saudi Arabia has not confirmed that King Khalid Air Base was struck, but emergency alerts were activated Sunday in the surrounding area and several other cities across southern Saudi Arabia as the Houthi attack was underway.

And that comes as their offensive along Yemen's Red Sea coast continues to gain ground. As noted in the morning PDB, Houthi fighters had captured Perim Island in the Bab al-Mandeb waterway and were advancing toward the Hanish Islands farther north. They've now reportedly gained control of those islands. The Houthis have seized both greater and lesser Hanish, extending their control over another strategically important section of the Red Sea.

Taken together, those gains give the militia positions along the Yemeni coast, inside Bab al-Mandeb and farther north, along one of the world's busiest maritime corridors. And their advance is also bringing them closer to the US military presence across the Red Sea in Djibouti. But perhaps the most consequential development for Saudi Arabia is what we're now learning about the kingdom's damaged oil infrastructure. Last week, drones launched from southern Iraq struck Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline. That pipeline had become especially important because it allows the Saudis to move crude from the Persian Gulf side of the country to terminals on the Red Sea, bypassing the troubled Strait of Hormuz. With Iran already disrupting traffic through Hormuz, the pipeline had become Riyadh's primary alternative route. Khuti attacks over the past few days had forced Saudi Arabia to shut the pipeline down. Now we're learning that the damage may be far more serious than initially understood. Officials say repairs could take between three and five weeks. Before the attack, the pipeline had reportedly been moving around four million barrels of oil per day. And that's roughly 4% of global oil supply moving through a single piece of infrastructure that could now remain largely offline for weeks. So Saudi Arabia is facing pressure from virtually every direction. To the east, Iran continues to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Across the kingdom, its backup pipeline has been knocked out by drones launched from an area of Iraq dominated by Iran-backed armed groups. And to the west, the Houthis are capturing islands along the Red Sea while launching missiles and drones at Saudi military targets.

Riyadh has so far avoided a major military response. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had asked President Trump for direct American military action against the Houthis. The president reportedly declined, although Washington has continued providing intelligence and targeting assistance. But the question now is how long Saudi Arabia can maintain that restraint if the attacks keep coming. Iran and its allies are putting increasing pressure on Saudi Arabia's military, its oil infrastructure and both of the maritime routes that it relies on to reach the outside world. At some point, the Saudis will be forced to respond and to reengage in a conflict with the Houthis that they've been trying to avoid for a few years now.

Coming up next, we'll examine Russia's growing advantage in the weapons race, where inexpensive drones are evolving into one of the major threats to Ukraine. I'll be right back.

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