Despite the uproar on Capitol Hill and rare public criticism from the White House, the OPEC+ dispute between the Biden administration and Saudi Arabia has so far not inhibited regular military coordination with Riyadh, US officials say.

One of US Central Command’s top priorities – convincing Middle Eastern states to stitch together their air and missile defense networks for collective protection against Iran – remains fully on the table, two US military officials close to the discussions informed Al-Monitor.

To that end, CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla and his staff have in recent months been discussing with regional counterparts a proposal to set up a new training site in Saudi Arabia to experiment with new and existing counter-drone technologies.

“Think of it like a rifle range for air and missile defenses,” US Army Brig. Gen. John Cogbill, the command’s deputy director for operations, told Al-Monitor in an exclusive interview at CENTCOM headquarters. “You can put [a system] through its paces, get that feedback, and test its limits.”