French Media: What is the Military Strength of Gulf Countries?

According to a report by Reference News on April 5, the French newspaper Le Figaro published an article on April 1 titled "Iran War: What is the Military Strength of Gulf Countries Facing Escalating Tensions?" The translation is as follows:

Gulf countries are the largest customers of the U.S. defense industry, and for diversification reasons, they also purchase a large number of European military products, especially from France, which is the main supplier of Rafale fighter jets to the UAE and Qatar.

Despite acquiring a significant amount of military equipment, the armed forces of Gulf countries are often criticized for their lack of combat experience and limited specialization. As a result, they have been heavily impacted by multiple rounds of attacks initiated by Iran.

As the primary target of the Iranian regime, the UAE has been attacked by 1,914 drones and 429 missiles within just one month.

Saudi Arabia also faced attacks from 766 drones and 66 missiles between February 28 and March 29.

Kuwait, which hosts U.S. military hubs, was not spared, suffering attacks from 616 drones and 307 missiles.

Bahrain was attacked by 391 drones and 174 missiles, while Qatar faced 93 drones and 206 missiles.

Overall, 83% of the attacks initiated by Iran targeted Gulf countries with U.S. military bases, with only 17% of the "Witness" drones and various missiles directed at Israel.

A French military official stated, "These countries have overnight transformed from a paradise into a battlefield of high-intensity warfare."

Fortunately, Gulf countries have sufficient military equipment reserves.

Since the outbreak of unrest due to the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, all Gulf countries have increased their already high defense spending.

The annual report "Military Power Comparison" released by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in the UK shows that by 2025, defense spending in Gulf and North African countries will average 4.3% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared to 3.5% in 2022.

Facing an Iranian military with over 600,000 soldiers, the Saudi Arabian military is relatively large in the Persian Gulf region, with 257,000 soldiers and a defense budget of approximately $72.5 billion.

The kingdom is one of the countries with the highest defense budget as a percentage of GDP in the world, reaching 5.7%, compared to Israel's 6.5%.

Following closely is the UAE, with 63,000 soldiers and a defense budget of $21.7 billion; Qatar's military spending is around $10 billion.

All these countries have gradually equipped themselves with a large fleet of fighter jets, especially a significant number of U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems.

Saudi Arabia was first attacked by drones from the Yemeni Houthi forces on its oil facilities in September 2019. Since then, Saudi Arabia has increased its defense investments and has become the largest customer of the Patriot system globally.

In just a few days, the number of Patriot surface-to-air missiles launched by Gulf countries exceeded the total number launched by Ukraine in four years of war. As a result, facing nearly depleted stockpiles, Gulf countries turned to Ukraine for technical support to shoot down "Witness" drones and signed a ten-year defense agreement with Kyiv.

Before the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, Saudi Arabia and several Gulf countries had already strengthened their defense ties with the U.S.

In July last year, Riyadh received its first THAAD missile defense system; in November last year, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was granted permission to purchase F-35 fighter jets during his visit to the U.S.

In addition to signing large arms procurement contracts with the Pentagon through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, Saudi Arabia is also seeking to diversify its suppliers, actively engaging with various European countries and Turkey.

To ensure the safety of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, with a relatively small navy, is still waiting for the delivery of new frigates ordered from the Spanish Navantia shipyard.

The Saudi navy mainly relies on frigates delivered by France in earlier years, which, despite being refurbished, no longer possess the top performance of a modern navy.

The French company Normandy Shipbuilding also delivered about 50 high-speed patrol interceptors to Saudi Arabia, but they can only perform coastal monitoring tasks and are unable to withstand drone and missile strikes.

Overall, although Gulf countries have equipped various types of warships, their naval combat foundation is insufficient and still requires external military assistance. (Translation by Shu Meng)