Speaking to KUNA on the sidelines of the 2nd International Marine Defense Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) which kicked off here on Monday, Kuwaiti Naval Force Commander Vice Admiral Ahmad Yussef Al-Mulla said GCC naval forces are in constant harmony thanks to sustained joint military exercises.
Gulf navies are equipped with sophisticated communication technology systems, and have joint maritime operation centers, he said. All this has laid several constant pillars and bases for joint military action that could enable Gulf naval forces to be on standby for looming circumstances, the Kuwaiti navy commander added.
Al-Mulla considered the conference as a good opportunity for a world military naval gathering involving all continents, which he said could provide the participants an opportunity for getting better acquainted with many sophisticated military equipment. This international military gathering is meant to protect maritime navigation and to maintain the concept of "navigation freedom", especially in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Gulf and Red Sea, Al-Mulla noted.
Representatives of 150 global companies specializing in naval industries are partaking in the DIMDEX. Some 13 warships and submarines from nine countries are berthed at Doha seaport as part of activities of the exhibition.
Separately, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) of the US Army Admiral Michael Glenn "Mike" Mullen and a delegation accompanying him arrived yesterday on an official visit. The Kuwaiti Army’s Moral Support and Public Relations Dept. said that Mullen would be meeting with Kuwaiti Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Sheikh Ahmad Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, Commanding general of Third US Army Lt Gen William G Webster and US Ambassador to Kuwait Deborah Jones.
Meanwhile, the US test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads during a joint military exercise yesterday with Saudi Arabia, a Western military official said. The Trident missile launch was carried out in the kingdom, the official said, but he would not give a precise location. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The US has been strengthening missile defenses in allied Arab nations in the Gulf to help counter any potential missile strike from Iran. Like its nuclear work, Iran’s missile program is of top concern to Washington and Arab nations wary of Tehran’s growing influence in the region. A defense official in Washington confirmed the missile launch on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record. He said, however, that it took place late last week and was part of a demonstration.
The Western military official in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, said US Lt Gen Patrick O’Reilly, head of the Missile Defense Agency, attended the test launch. Earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited the kingdom to tell Saudi officials that the Obama administration’s efforts for diplomatic engagement with Iran had come to naught, and he asked for the influential kingdom’s help to win wide backing for biting economic penalties against Tehran over its nuclear program. Gates also discussed
bolstering Saudi air and missile defense capabilities as part of the broader US effort to boost security in the Gulf in the face of Iran’s expanding arsenal of ballistic missiles.
The United States has promised to speed up weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies, which have bought billions of dollars worth of American weapons – including missile defense hardware – in recent years. The US military is trying to reassure Gulf allies by buttressing its defense systems with upgraded Patriot missiles on land and more US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf capable of destroying missiles in flight.
The Patriot missile systems, which originally were deployed in the region to shoot down aircraft, have now been upgraded to hit missiles in flight. Saudi Arabia has long warned of the potential for a nuclear arms race in the Gulf region if Iran were to gain the bomb. Iran’s assurances that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes such as power generation have failed to ease concerns. On Monday Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan said Saudi and US warplanes will carry out joint
exercises soon.
Also, a crewmember went missing but three others were rescued yesterday as a US Navy radar plane supporting operations in Afghanistan ploughed into the Arabian Sea, the US Fifth Fleet said. The E-2C Hawkeye aircraft "was returning from conducting operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom" when it malfunctioned, the Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet said in a statement. "Operation Enduring Freedom" is the name used by the US military for its war in Afghanistan.
The crew "performed a controlled bailout" from the plane, which was on its way back to the USS Dwight D Eisenhower aircraft carrier on which it is based, when it went down in the northern Arabia Sea, the statement added. Three crewmembers were "rescued, and they’re back on the USS Eisenhower," Fifth Fleet public affairs officer Lieutenant Commander Corey Barker told AFP. "They are alive and well," he added.
Search and rescue efforts are continuing for the missing aviator and are expected to continue through the night or until he or she is found," said Lieutenant Matthew Allen, another Fifth Fleet public affairs officer. The crash was under investigation. The US Navy says the E-2C Hawkeye is used to provide "all-weather airborne early warnings, battle management and command and control functions". Based on US aircraft carriers, the E-2C is also used for "ground surveillance, strike coordination and communicat
ions relay".
According to the US Navy website, an E-2C costs $ 80 million. The aircraft, which is 17.5 m long and has a 28-m wingspan, is built by Northrop Grumman Aerospace Corp and was first introduced in 1964, the website says. Hawkeye aircraft provided command and control support during the 1991 Gulf War, for late-1990s NATO operations over the former Yugoslavia, and gave "critical" support for US operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Hawkeye has also been "extremely effectively" in aiding US law enforcement drug
interdiction operations, it says. The current version of the aircraft entered service in 1973, and surpassed one million flight hours in 2004, according to the website.
