DUBAI: ‘Settling grievances’ key to Gulf states’ air defence, says USAF

The UAE and other Gulf nations must “settle old grievances” to enable a networked defence against a ballistic missile attack from Iran, according to US Air Force (USAF) chief of staff Major General David Goldfein.

Gulf states would only have a brief window to detect and defend themselves against attacks on the northern-most parts of the Arabian Peninsula, said Goldfein, speaking at the Dubai International Air Chiefs conference on 16 November.

“We must enable each other to observe, orient, decide and act in single-digit minutes,” he says. “And no one country has everything it needs to defend itself. But together we have exactly what we need for collective defence.”

As the USAF moves to reoganise itself around multi-domain warfare – the ability to co-ordinate operations across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains – it pledges not to forget its Gulf partners, says Goldfein. However, the service needs its partners to resolve diplomatic disputes to enable networked defences.

“In the business of missile defence, the most difficult shot to take when you are trying to hit a speeding bullet with a speeding bullet is nose to nose. Just like an air-to-air engagement, the smallest radar cross section is on the nose. So, the optimal shot for effective defence is not always from the defending location,” says Goldfein. “Said another way, the best shot to defend the UAE is not always from the UAE. It may come from Qatar or Oman – neighbours to the right and left.”

Moreover, common defence agreements are needed to stop new threats from loitering munitions, the sort of weapons Iran allegedly used to attack the Saudi Aramco oil processing facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais.

“If the threat is a UAV coming at you at a low altitude you might have to transit through your neighbour’s airspace to defend against the attack in the moment,” says Goldfein.

Left unsaid by Goldfein is a simmering diplomatic feud between several Gulf nations and Qatar. Countries, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have accused Doha of supporting certain terrorist groups, among other allegations, although these are denied by Qatar. Diplomatic relations between the countries were severed in 2017.

“When a missile or UAV is en route from Iran we agree that is not the time to start settling past grievances. That time is now, today,” said Goldfien. “Let us begin at this conference to have the necessary conversations to defend the Gulf together.”