DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Arab states, particularly in the Gulf, are seeking to build up their air power and missile defenses to counter any challenger from Iran.
Mostly they're looking to their traditional arms suppliers in the West, the United States, Britain and France, but Russia is pushing hard for a piece of the action.
This year's biennial Dubai air show, which opened Sunday in the United Arab Emirates, provided a showcase for the latest technology on offer.
Air power has been the deciding factor in most Middle Eastern conflicts since the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict, when Israeli warplanes annihilated the air forces of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, largely on the ground, in pre-emptive strikes at the outset.
And for the Gulf states that lie across the waterway from Iran, air power and their ability to counter the Islamic republic's ballistic missile arsenal will be crucial in any conflict that erupts.
"Acquisition of the best air assets as politically and economically feasible -- be these fighter aircraft, helicopters, transports or unmanned aerial vehicles -- has thus become a priority in the Middle East," an analysis by Germany's Defense Professionals group concluded.
It stressed that the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain -- have given top priority to building up their air power.
"Political decision-makers in the region are acutely aware of the importance of air assets and the need to upgrade them with better firepower and/or expanded numbers whenever required," it said.
The combined air strength of the Gulf Arab states greatly outnumber the Iranian air force, which has suffered tremendously from U.S.-led arms embargoes on the Islamic republic over the last 30 years.
However, air power is needed not only as a deterrent but as a critical element to counter Iran's overwhelming strength on the ground if hostilities erupt, with GCC energy industries a key target.
The GCC states, along with Egypt and Jordan, are the recipients of U.S. military systems worth more than $20 billion under a package unveiled by President George W. Bush in 2007 to bolster Arab capabilities against Iran's nuclear program and its expansionist policies.
Under this they will be able to acquire advanced systems, some of them long denied Arab states because of Israeli opposition, such as the Patriot air-defense missile, the over-the-horizon AMRAAM air-to-air missile as well as fighter upgrades and electronic systems that outclass anything Iran is known to have.
The United Arab Emirates, one of the world's major oil producers, has built up an impressive air strength that rivals the Saudi air force and is currently spending $3.3 billion of the Patriot system manufactured by the Raytheon company of Massachusetts.
U.S. government-to-government arms sales rose 4.7 percent in 2008 to a record $38.1 billion and are expected to total about the same this year, the Pentagon announced Nov. 7.
Among the top buyers were the United Arab Emirates with $7.9 billion, Saudi Arabia with $3.3 billion, Egypt with $2.1 billion and Iraq with $1.6 billion.
Leading U.S. arms manufacturers Lockheed Martin Corp., the Boeing Co., Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon and the General Dynamics Corp are all seeking to boost sales in the Middle East to counter U.S. budget cuts that are likely to slow big-ticket purchases by the Pentagon.
Iran has sought to counter the air and missile threat, not just from the United States and Israel but the GCC states as well, with Russian air-defense systems.
The Saudis, apparently with the encouragement of Washington, have offered Moscow an arms-buying package worth more than $2 billion if it tears up a 2007 contract to supply Iran with the advanced S-300PMU air-defense system, considered one of the most effective in operation.
So far, the Russians have held up deliveries, much to Tehran's annoyance. The Saudis are offering to buy the S-400 air-defense system, successor to the S-300 and far more dangerous, along with tanks and other systems if Moscow plays ball.
That would crack open the lucrative Gulf arms market for the Russians. If the Americans have indeed agreed to Riyadh's offer to Moscow, it demonstrates just how far they are prepared to go to ensure that Iran is contained.
