With missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Houthis on Saudi Arabia continuing, footage of the reporting screen in the Tawakkalna app, through which suspicious aerial vehicles are reported, has drawn attention in the kingdom.
The "Suspicious Aerial Observations" service, launched by the Saudi Defense Ministry on March 15, 2026, allows citizens and foreign residents in the country to report drones and missiles they see directly to authorities through the app. The footage shows users selecting the type, number and color of the object, the sound it made and how long it was visible, marking its location on a map and optionally attaching a photo.
When the service was launched, Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman described citizens as key partners in the country's defense and urged everyone to report any missiles and drones they saw through the app. Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki also said the service strengthened the partnership between the public and the defense system.
Penalties for filming
Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry, meanwhile, reiterated in early October its warning that filming the interception of missiles and drones, circulating such footage and passing on information about where they fall will lead to legal penalties. Authorities want such sightings to be reported only through Tawakkalna.
The warning came as the Houthis stepped up attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia. Attacks on Oct. 6-7 targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha Airport killed three people and injured 36. The Saudi-led coalition said it had struck 82 Houthi military targets in Yemen.
The attacks grew more severe in the following days. According to The Wall Street Journal, an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Oct. 10 killed 13 people and injured more than 300. The airport was targeted again the next day, in an attack that killed one person and injured 11. Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had held an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh on Oct. 5 under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement they signed in August.
