Between March 2015 and November 2018, the Pentagon spent about $300 million to fly aerial refueling missions in support of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and others engaged in the nearly eight-year conflict.
In the wake of recent missile and drone attacks against the UAE by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, there’s a fresh opportunity to integrate air and missile defense in the Mideast, says Lt. Gen. Michael Kurilla.
The United Arab Emirates is the first to use the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System in an attack by Houthi militants. It successfully took out a mid-range ballistic missile aimed at a civilian site in the country.
The U.S. accuses the group of trying to overthrow Bahrain’s government and plotting terrorist attacks on Americans in the country, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.