Gulf countries need an integrated air and missile defence system that allows them to detect threats, share intelligence and coordinate their responses in real time, a senior UAE diplomatic expert has said.
“Since modern ballistic missiles and drones leave only minutes between launch and impact, the decisive work has to be done well before a crisis,” said Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Al Dhaheri, Deputy Director-General of the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy and Advisor at the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He was explaining to Khaleej Times what an effective collective response by GCC countries would look like, following a call by Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, to revive joint Gulf action, particularly in security and defence. Gargash had stressed that the security of Gulf countries was inseparable, warning that targeting Saudi Arabia undermined the security of the UAE and the region.
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Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10 and 11 caused several casualties. Energy facilities have also been targeted, including an administrative building at Saudi Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran, which was struck on October 13.
Dr Al Dhaheri stressed that what happened in Riyadh concerns the whole Gulf, because the “security of each of our countries is bound up with that of the others”.
What is already in place?
The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) already has a framework for collective defence, with agreements and institutions established over decades.
“Joint Gulf action has a long history, and in 1991 forces from all six states fought side by side to liberate Kuwait, with Emirati soldiers giving their lives in that cause,” Dr Al Dhaheri said. “The Joint Defense Agreement of 2000 then turned that experience into a binding commitment, under which aggression against any member state is regarded as aggression against all.”
Several institutions have since been established to support collective defence, including the Joint Defense Council, the Unified Military Command headquartered in Riyadh, the Peninsula Shield Force and a joint naval force based in Bahrain.
In September 2025, GCC defence ministers agreed to transmit air surveillance information to every national operations centre and accelerate work on a common early-warning system against ballistic missiles.
“Reviving joint action therefore means activating the joint defence mechanisms the Council has agreed, so that a treaty commitment becomes an integrated system able to meet any threat to one capital with the six together.”
What would a joint response look like?
Under an integrated air and missile defence system, radars across the six GCC countries would feed information into a common operating picture, allowing national operations centres to track threats and coordinate their responses in real time.
A joint missile-warning network would simultaneously alert operations centres across the Gulf to a ballistic missile launch.
For this to work, however, defence systems acquired from different international partners would need to communicate with one another through shared data links and secure communication networks.
Equally important would be establishing rules of engagement in advance, so that national operations centres could act together without losing valuable time consulting one another once an attack was under way.
The Unified Military Command would coordinate intelligence-sharing and ensure collective defence plans remained up to date.
He also stressed the importance of building a layered defence system capable of responding to different types of threats.
This would involve using dedicated counter-drone weapons against relatively inexpensive drones, while reserving advanced interceptors for ballistic missiles. Al Dhaheri said Gulf industry was increasingly capable of producing such defence systems itself.
Beyond military cooperation
Joint Gulf security would also involve ensuring that essential supplies and infrastructure remain operational during regional crises.
Al Dhaheri cited the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, when ports and roads in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman helped keep goods moving to neighbouring countries.
Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Al Dhaheri is an Advisor at the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
The GCC already has an interconnected electricity grid linking all six countries. Planned water interconnections and strategic reserves could further strengthen their ability to support one another if essential supplies were interrupted.
Collective action also extends to diplomacy.
Al Dhaheri pointed to the March 2026 UN Security Council resolution condemning Iran's attacks, which Bahrain led on behalf of GCC states and Jordan. The resolution passed without a vote against it.
What needs to change?
Dr Al Dhaheri believes the current security situation could become a turning point in Gulf defence cooperation.
He noted that major regional security crises had historically resulted in lasting institutions. The Peninsula Shield Force emerged during the Iran-Iraq war, while the Joint Defence Agreement followed the experience of liberating Kuwait.
With every GCC member state having come under attack in 2026, he expects the current situation to produce further changes.
At their summit in Jeddah in April 2026, GCC leaders called for deeper military integration and faster progress on joint projects.
But translating these commitments into operational capabilities would require dedicated funding, deadlines and continued political oversight.
At the same time, Al Dhaheri stressed that closer military integration would not mean GCC countries giving up their independence in defence and foreign policy decisions.
Each country would retain its strategic autonomy, including the freedom to determine its national interests and maintain its international partnerships.
“As I see it, collective defense among our states draws its strength from the free choice of each capital,” he said.