Why defending Israel from GCC backyard?

gulfsecurity

New Member
At the Manama security forum, the US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates had called on GCC states to establish an air missile defense umbrella to combat Iranian missiles.
as gulfsecurity.blogspot.com puts it?
I'm just a simple Bedouin boy and my question is:
Why do we have to pay for new missiles to set them up at the GCC backyard to defend Israel?
 

Grand Danois

Entertainer
The missile defence systems in the GCC can't defend Israel.

But they can defend from missiles aimed at GCC.

So the missile defence systems protect the GCC from states who aim missiles at them.
 

gulfsecurity

New Member
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3
Sir
We have the patriot all over the GCC for the last 15 years ,capable of confronting all kind of Iranian missiles.
Sir
Robert M. Gates called on GCC states to establish the umbrella as the first line of defense for Israel.
 

swerve

Super Moderator
...
Sir
Robert M. Gates called on GCC states to establish the umbrella as the first line of defense for Israel.
What's your source for that?

Geographically, it doesn't make sense. I can't see how missiles fired from Iran at Israel would overfly GCC states.
 

Grand Danois

Entertainer
Sir
We have the patriot all over the GCC for the last 15 years ,capable of confronting all kind of Iranian missiles.
Sir
Robert M. Gates called on GCC states to establish the umbrella as the first line of defense for Israel.

That is a bit of a stretch, isn't it?


Gates also called for an "air and missile defence umbrella" over the Gulf region to deter missile attacks by Iran.

...

He said they should "cooperate multilaterally in establishing an air and missile defense umbrella over this region that would deter a country like Iran from threatening to use missiles."

http://gulf-news.com/news/gulf/bahrain/10173334.html
 

gulfsecurity

New Member
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6
Sir
You think they gona shoot them from northern Iran ?
Draw a line from any point in southern Iran and see how missiles fired from Iran at Israel overfly GCC states
 

Grand Danois

Entertainer
Sir
You think they gona shoot them from northern Iran ?
Draw a line from any point in southern Iran and see how missiles fired from Iran at Israel overfly GCC states
Well, looking at the map (including the great circle) I can see you can fire a missile from almost all of Iran towards Israel without passing over GCC states.

http://www.acscdg.com/

But it really doesn't matter, as the ballistic missiles launched from Iran towards Israel will be way out of the envelope of the PAC-3.

PAC-3 is a terminal intercept system, it does not do midcourse intercept of ballistic missiles. In other words: The ballistic missile has to be aimed at the local area the Patriot system defends. This leads me to reiterate:

The missile defence systems in the GCC can't defend Israel.

But they can defend from missiles aimed at GCC.

So the missile defence systems protect the GCC from states who aim missiles at them.


Thus we can conclude

  • Gates did not say the GCC was the first line of defence of Israel
  • The missile system cannot defend Israel from Iranian missiles.
 
Last edited:

Awang se

New Member
Verified Defense Pro
The missile system cannot defend Israel from Iranian missiles
They never say it's a Patriot PAC-3 in the first place. it could've been a more capable THAAD which was expected to be operational by 2009. And what better way to intercept a ballistic missile then to destroy it during it's boost stage. it's kind of difficult to intercept the missile on it's terminal stage, hence the rationale of staging the Missile defence close to the source of ballistic threat. isn't that also the argument behind the staging of Missile umbrella in Eastern Europe and the idea behind the development of SM-3 missile?

i dont say the Missile umbrella was there specifically to defend Israel, but on a current situation, Israel are the one most benefit from the deployment.
 

Grand Danois

Entertainer
They never say it's a Patriot PAC-3 in the first place. it could've been a more capable THAAD which was expected to be operational by 2009. And what better way to intercept a ballistic missile then to destroy it during it's boost stage. it's kind of difficult to intercept the missile on it's terminal stage, hence the rationale of staging the Missile defence close to the source of ballistic threat. isn't that also the argument behind the staging of Missile umbrella in Eastern Europe and the idea behind the development of SM-3 missile?

i dont say the Missile umbrella was there specifically to defend Israel, but on a current situation, Israel are the one most benefit from the deployment.
THAAD should be able to do it - in a midcourse or terminal intercept - but my impression is that Gates was referring to the recent notification to Congress of Patriot sales to Kuwait:

http://www.defencetalk.com/news/pub...les_GEM-T_PATRIOT_System_Upgrade160014497.php

and UAE

http://www.defencetalk.com/news/pub...ability-3_Missile_System_for_UAE160014496.php
 
Last edited:

Awang se

New Member
Verified Defense Pro

gulfsecurity

New Member
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11
i dont say the Missile umbrella was there specifically to defend Israel, but on a current situation, Israel are the one most benefit from the deployment.

Israel is the one most benefit from the deployment

Thank you Sir that's what I was trying to say
 

swerve

Super Moderator
Israel is the one most benefit from the deployment

Thank you Sir that's what I was trying to say
But in his last post he retracted that statement.

You've still not given any source for your claim that "Robert M. Gates called on GCC states to establish the umbrella as the first line of defense for Israel." The statement from Gates that Grand Danois linked to does not suggest it.
 

swerve

Super Moderator
Sir
You think they gona shoot them from northern Iran ?
Draw a line from any point in southern Iran and see how missiles fired from Iran at Israel overfly GCC states
You have to draw Great Circle lines, not straight lines on flat maps. There is a relatively small region of Saudi Arabia which would be overflown by ballistic missiles fired from much of Iran, aimed at much of Israel (but note that PAC-3 based in that part of Saudi Arabia could not intercept such missiles: too high, at that point in their flight), but even that part of Saudi Arabia could be missed by missiles fired at northern & central Israel (i.e. where most Israelis live) from northern Iran. Apart from Kuwait, which is in the path of missiles fired from southern Iran towards Israel (but again, only at mid-point unless fired from a small region near the coast, around Bushehr, in which case they'd be in boost phase), the other GCC states are not on any possible route.

I believe you are misinterpreting what was said by Gates, & you are mistaken in the utility of missiles based in GCC countries for intercepting ballistic missiles aimed at Israel.
 

Awang se

New Member
Verified Defense Pro
The missile will overfly Iraq, Syria and Jordan. If they launch from the north, it may overfly a small part of Turkey.

But in his last post he retracted that statement.

You've still not given any source for your claim that "Robert M. Gates called on GCC states to establish the umbrella as the first line of defense for Israel." The statement from Gates that Grand Danois linked to does not suggest it.
It was because Grand Danois specified the type as Patriot PAC-3. Unless they have a new type of Patriot missile we never knew about, or if Iran decide to launch close to it's soutwestern border, it's kind of difficult to catch the Ballistic Missile before reentry.
 
Last edited:
Top