Here Are Some Other Air Defenses Ukraine Would Like From The Middle East

The United States is reportedly working with Middle East allies to supply National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) to Ukraine. The NASAMS, however, are not the only air defense systems in Middle Eastern arsenals that Kyiv would like to acquire as it endures repeated Russian drone and missile attacks against its infrastructure.

Greg Hayes, the CEO of Raytheon TechnologiesRTX
, recently disclosed that the U.S. is working with allied Middle East countries to fast-track the supply of NASAMS to Ukraine.

“There are NASAMS deployed across the Middle East, and some of our NATO allies and we are actually working with a couple of Middle East countries that currently employ NASAMS and trying to direct those back up to Ukraine,” he said. He pointed out that taking existing systems based in the Middle East would be much quicker than building new ones.

Only two countries in the Middle East, Oman and Qatar, are known to have ordered NASAMS. Qatar was the first country to purchase the extended-range version. It’s unclear exactly how many systems Muscat and Doha can offer for transfer to Ukraine. Hayes clarified that the Middle Eastern countries which supply their NASAMS to Ukraine would be resupplied with replacements over the next 24 months.

On Nov. 10, the United States announced it was delivering MIM-23 HAWK and AN/TWQ-1 Avenger air defenses along with portable FIM-92 Stinger missiles as part of a $400 million assistance package for Kyiv. Many U.S. allies in the Middle East operate HAWK systems, a design dating back to the 1960s. These include Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Turkey also has the more advanced HAWK XXI variant. The U.S. may also try to convince some of these countries to supply these older systems in exchange for promises of newer replacements down the road.

In October, Ukraine officially requested several air defenses from Israel – including the Iron Dome, the upcoming Iron Beam laser defense system, and the Arrow anti-ballistic missile, among others – in a letter. Israel promptly rejected the request.

However, in mid-November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Benjamin Netanyahu, since reelected prime minister of Israel, told him he would “consider” his request for Israeli systems. Nevertheless, Kyiv’s chance of fielding Israeli air defenses anytime soon will probably remain slim.

In its October letter, Ukraine emphasized the common threat posed by Iranian drones and missiles to both countries. It warned that “positive experience gained by Iran of using … weapons in Ukraine will lead to further improvement of Iranian systems” which would “significantly contribute in strengthening Iran’s potential of producing offensive weapons and, as a result, will increase the security threats for the State of Israel and the Middle East region.”

When asked about that Ukrainian request in October, then-opposition leader Netanyahu recalled, “weapons that we supplied in one battlefield end up in Iranian hands used against us.” He also expressed his support for the “prudent” Israeli government policy of rejecting Ukrainian requests for arms.

While Ukraine hopes the West will supply it with advanced Western-built systems, including Patriot missiles and even fighter jets, it still seeks Russian arms and munitions.

On Dec. 1, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Kyiv is “currently negotiating with the defense ministers of all countries that have S-300s in service regarding the possibility of replenishing stocks of missiles from their warehouses and arsenals.”

While a number of Middle East countries could help with such requests, they are not likely to do so for political reasons.

For example, the United Arab Emirates operates an increasingly diverse arsenal of air defense systems. In addition to U.S.-built Patriots, Terminal High Altitude Air Defenses (THAAD), the UAE also operates Russian-built Pantsir-S1 medium-range air defenses.

The UAE recently acquired a Barak missile system from Israel and ordered medium-range KM-SAM systems from South Korea. Consequently, transferring its Pantsir-S1s wouldn’t leave any significant gap in its air defenses. On the other hand, Abu Dhabi will not likely want to risk antagonizing Moscow, with which it has maintained good relations for decades.

Egypt acquired a modern version of the S-300, the S-300VM, in the mid-2010s. Ukraine would certainly love to get its hands on this modern version since Kyiv operates the much older Soviet-era variants that it inherited following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The S-300VM could prove highly efficient at shooting down the Iranian-built ballistic missiles Russia is expected to acquire and use against Ukraine in the near future.

Here again, political considerations will likely dissuade Cairo from supplying Kyiv with these systems, even if the United States or its allies offer comparable replacements in exchange.

Turkey controversially bought advanced S-400 systems from Russia in the mid-2010s, taking delivery of the first components in mid-2019. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, American diplomats urged Ankara to supply Kyiv with the system. By doing so, Ankara could rid itself of the system — which incurred U.S. sanctions on its defense sector and resulted in its banning from buying any fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters for its air force — markedly bolster Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, and get back in Washington’s good graces. Turkey, however, has declared it has no intention of transferring any of its Russian systems.

Consequently, while the Middle East undoubtedly has an awful lot to offer Ukraine in terms of air defense, Kyiv is not likely to get anything more than those NASAMS for now. Still, it’s a whole lot better than nothing.