The Gulf countries, which have been under attack from Iran for four days, may use up their air defense ammunition within a week. It was reported by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
The publication notes that the US partners in the Middle East use advanced air defense systems, which are also integrated into the US military system. These systems are capable of effectively intercepting ballistic missiles, but their ammunition is extremely limited.
Missile expert at the University of Oslo Fabian Hoffmann told the WSJ that the Gulf states will probably be able to maintain this intensity of fire on Iranian missiles and drones for another week.
"Probably in a couple of days at most, they will start to experience problems from the lack of interceptors," the newspaper quotes Hoffmann as saying.
WSJ writes, citing data from the Ministry of Defense of the United Arab Emirates, that the effectiveness of the US MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems against Iranian ballistic missiles and drones is 90%. However, these figures hide the fact that an anti-aircraft missile costing USD 4 million is needed to destroy drones that cost less than USD 20,000. And while the production of drones is easy to scale, the production of ammunition for the Patriot is a rather lengthy process. This problem has already been faced by the United States and its NATO allies, who have been providing Ukraine with interceptors to repel attacks by the aggressor country russia.
Experts believe that in the near future, the Gulf countries will have to change their tactics to repel Iranian attacks.
Becca Wasser, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), suggested that the militaries of the Persian Gulf countries will likely have to allow some drones to "fly in" to hold off interceptors in case Iranian ballistic missile strikes are repelled.
Wasser believes that this strategy could hit the image of security and stability that the Gulf states have maintained for decades. This could have a negative impact on tourism and investment.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on March 3, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that due to the situation in the Middle East, Ukraine may face a shortage of missiles for air defense systems needed to repel russian attacks.
Yesterday, March 2, The Wall Street Journal wrote that three days of Israeli and US operations against Iran showed that Tehran is copying the tactics of using strike UAVs that russia has been using against Ukraine for almost four years.
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