The US missile shield promise to the Gulf will take serious work - Business Insider
An integrated defense system would allow Gulf countries to better repel an Iranian attack, stitching together their radars and interceptors to counter a range of different missiles.
The system would use U.S. early-warning satellites and a mix of U.S. and Gulf radars to detect the launch of an enemy missile and fire a ground- or sea-based missile to destroy it far above the earth.
CLOSER SHARING NEEDED
Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin's MEADS, or medium extended air defense system.
Lockheed Martin Corp, Raytheon Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp would be key contenders to build a central command-and-control system for the shield since they already do similar work for the U.S. military and key allies.
The biggest challenge to making the shield work would be securing a broad agreement on the rules for dealing with any threats, said Anthony Cordesman, a senior analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"You have to work out the entire engagement structure before the first missile is ever launched," Cordesman said.
Getting to that point will require unprecedented agreements between the U.S. military and the GCC, and among the often rancorous Gulf allies, to share sensitive data to avoid the risk of a friendly aircraft being shot down by mistake, experts said.
Intensive U.S.-led training would also be vital to minimize the risk of mishaps, U.S. officials say.
The U.S. military already has 10 Patriot missile batteries to defend against short-range ballistic missiles in the Gulf region and Jordan, as well as a powerful AN-TPY-2 radar system to scan for missile launches, according to U.S. officials.
REUTERS/Issei KatoA unit of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles is seen as an armored vehicle drives past at the Defence Ministry in Tokyo April 10, 2013.
The Gulf countries are upgrading their existing Raytheon Patriot systems to incorporate new PAC-3 missiles built by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin Corp, and are starting to buy wider-area and longer-range systems like the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), built by Lockheed.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Washington this week that Gulf countries would need new ground-based networks and computer terminals to manage those systems.
He said the Gulf countries also wanted longer-range options like the Raytheon SM-3 missile, which has not yet been released for export to the region.
Washington has balked at selling a land-based Aegis combat system to deal with missile threats and any associated SM-3 missiles to Gulf countries, largely because such a system would be best suited to dealing with threats outside the earth's atmosphere that are beyond Iran's capability, Cordesman said.
Washington's decision in December to allow U.S. arms sales to the GCC as an organization - similar to its arrangement with NATO - helped pave the way for progress on integrating missile defense and maritime security systems.
REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueU.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tameem bin Hamad Al Thani while hosting the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at Camp David in Maryland May 14, 2015.
“That’s a huge step in the right direction,” said a U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Cordesman said Raytheon's new SM-6 missile could prove useful to address Gulf concerns since it could address threats inside the earth's atmosphere as well as outside.
U.S. officials had no immediate comment on whether the Gulf countries had made any formal request for the SM-6 system.
Al-Jubeir cautioned against expecting rapid progress on missile defense integration.
"Those are complicated systems that take time to acquire and then take time to put in place," he said. "You can’t buy these things off the shelf and take them home the day you buy them ... One has to come before the other."
