{"id":3382,"date":"2023-05-12T13:16:10","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T18:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=3382"},"modified":"2023-05-12T13:16:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T18:16:11","slug":"as-us-shifts-its-gaze-can-anyone-keep-an-eye-on-iran-in-the-gulf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/?p=3382","title":{"rendered":"As US shifts its gaze, can anyone keep an eye on Iran in the Gulf?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20370%20247'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"zeen-lazy-load-base zeen-lazy-load wp-image-3383\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-770x433.png 770w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-293x165.png 293w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-1400x788.png 1400w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61-390x219.png 390w, https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-61.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>BEIRUT \u2014 Iran\u2018s recent seizure of two merchant vessels from international waters has thrown the spotlight, once again, on the aggressive nature of how Tehran operates around its territory. But with the US shifting its attention from the Gulf region and towards Russia and China, it\u2019s uncertain if there are enough assets to make sure&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/tag\/iran\/\">Iran<\/a>\u2019s movements are tracked regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s the question raised by a new report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a London-based think tank. In late April, the group issued a report called \u201cWatching Iran: the ISR Gulf\u201d addressing whether cooperation among the Gulf countries, combined with ISR capabilities with the US fifth fleet in the region, can accomplish regional security goals in Hurmuz Strait, the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Gulf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIntelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance coverage of Iran is and will continue to be a central element of bolstering regional security,\u201d the report warns, adding that \u201cGulf countries, while holding some ISR capacity at the national level, currently lack the overall resources to fully replace those elements that Washington is redeploying [elsewhere], as do their allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFurthermore, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states continue to struggle in moving beyond national approaches to the challenge of Iran, not only in terms of ISR but also, for instance, ballistic-missile defense, despite Washington\u2019s best efforts to encourage a more collaborative approach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report scanned Iran\u2019s defense capabilities, both from regular army and the Revolutionary Guard, and despite showing that many of the systems operational by the air force, navy and land forces are obsolete, found Iran has been maintaining them and adding new capabilities \u2014 mainly unmanned systems and missile defense systems \u2014 to its inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Comparing the technology between the systems operated by the Gulf countries and the outdated systems operated by Iran, gives the former an obvious advantage, but this is not really the point, Douglas Barrie, co-author of the report told Breaking Defense in a May 8 interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBeing capable of developing systems that meet the requirements is what matters. Using inexpensive systems to destroy advanced expensive systems is the case here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also holding back the Gulf states, the report noted, is that they operate at a national, not regional, level. Going collective could be the key to unlocking the potential of getting eyes everywhere in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>OP ED:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2023\/04\/in-dreams-of-a-formal-gulf-us-defense-pact-what-would-washington-get\/\">In dreams of a formal Gulf-US defense pact, what would Washington get?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, there are opportunities to be found. that although the gap left by US moving defense systems to Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific region is certainly considerable, it can be closed through cooperation, training the back-end operators and ISR coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe US tried to encourage cooperation across the ISR Task Force task, to come up with overarching agreements amongst all the players which can solve the missile defense in the Gulf issues,\u201d Barrie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Navy Plans For \u2018Digital Ocean\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, said the US is focused on creating joint operational capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne of the areas we see tremendous opportunity for strengthening regional maritime security is in building towards a common operating picture. The integration of unmanned and artificial intelligence platforms that provide persistent ISR is fundamental to this goal,\u201d he told Breaking Defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He added that NAVCENT is working side-by-side with regional partners to build a fleet of 100 surface drones by end of the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHaving more eyes out on the water through these drones, most of which will be operated and employed by regional nations, will enhance our collective ISR capability at sea,\u201d Hawkins said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NAVCENT through both Task Forces TF59 and TF99 has been operating in the Gulf waters a number of USVs including Saildrone Explorers, MARTAC T-38 Devil Ray, L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13, Ocean Aero Triton and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hawkins noted the cost of unmanned systems makes the value proposition easier for other partners in the region to join in, creating what Fifth Fleet is billing as a \u201cdigital ocean\u201d concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis means having every partner and every sensor collect new data that gets added to an intelligent synthesis of around-the-clock inputs encompassing thousands of images from seabed to space, from ships, unmanned systems, sub-sea sensors, satellites, buoys and other persistent technologies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hawkins told Breaking Defense that in 20 months, surface drones were sailed on every side of the Arabian Peninsula; surpassing 40,000 operating hours for unmanned surface vessels, which is the equivalent of 19 years of nine-to-five operations at sea five days a week; and conducted more than 20 unmanned naval exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe rapid progress we are making will enable us to realize the digital ocean vision soon,\u201d Hawkins highlighted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When asked about the next step to maintain security in the region Cmdr. Hawkins answered, \u201cLet\u2019s be clear on this, it is Iran\u2019s responsibility to cease its unwarranted, irresponsible and destabilizing behavior in regional waters. Iran\u2019s pattern of harassing, seizing and attacking internationally flagged merchant vessels needs to stop. U.S. 5th Fleet will remain vigilant while coordinating closely with the shipping industry to offer assistance when needed, and collaborate with regional allies and partners to enhance our collective ability to monitor what\u2019s happening at sea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He added that having greater visibility will help 5th Fleet position and employ resources more precisely. \u201cWe are fully committed to protecting the rights of regional mariners to lawfully navigate waters across the Middle East safely,\u201d Hawkins concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Original Article:<a href=\"https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2023\/05\/as-us-shifts-its-gaze-can-anyone-keep-an-eye-on-iran-in-the-gulf\/\">https:\/\/breakingdefense.com\/2023\/05\/as-us-shifts-its-gaze-can-anyone-keep-an-eye-on-iran-in-the-gulf\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BEIRUT \u2014 Iran\u2018s recent seizure of two merchant vessels from international waters has thrown the spotlight, once again, on the aggressive nature of how Tehran operates around its territory. But with the US shifting its attention from the Gulf region and towards Russia and China, it\u2019s uncertain if there are enough assets to make sure&nbsp;Iran\u2019s movements are tracked regularly. That\u2019s the question raised by a new report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a London-based think tank. In [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3382"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3384,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3382\/revisions\/3384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nakedpolitics.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}