GCC and Military Power Mohammed Hassan Ali Alshidi.

Overview. Kingdom Saudi Arabia & The United Arab Emirates: Geostrategic location. Criteria. Additional Military Criteria. GCC & NATO. Conclusion. List of References.

Kingdom Saudi Arabia Geostrategic: Population: Around 31,742,308 million. Square Land: 2,149,690 sq/km. The country's boundaries: Bodies of water and seven countries. Defficult or easy to defend it (Why)? Problem with neighbors: Iran & Yemen. Declare war: In 2015 ( Yemeni Civil War). Military Treaty: The US in 1983 (during Iran-Iraq war).

Saudi Military Force. Manpower 256000 Total military personal 230000 Active personal 325000 Reserve personal Royal Saudi Air Force 862 Total aircraft strength 86 Fighter Aircrafts 143 Attack Aircrafts 54 Multirole aircraft 344 Total Helicopter Royal Saudi Land Forces Armored 1142 Combat Tanks 9096 Armored Fighting Vehicles 474 Self-propelled Artillery 122 Rocket Artillery Royal Saudi Naval Forces 27 Total Naval Assets 7 Frigates 4 Corvettes

Additional Military Criteria’s(KSA) Military Spending: The third largest military spenders in the world after US and China ( 63,7 billion $) that means 10% of the GDP. Most of buying’s are from: US ($110 billion arms / tanks, artillery, radar systems, etc.) UK ( military equipment by £1.1bn ). Russia (The SAMI signed MOU/ buying S-400 air defense systems). Military industry: Military Industries Corporation (MIC). Armored Vehicles & Heavy Equipment Factory Saudi Arabian Military Industries ( 2030 vision).

The United Arab Emirates Geostrategic: Population: 7.9 million. Square Land: 83,600 sq/ km. The country's boundaries: KSA, Oman and a maritime border with Qatar. Problems with neighbors: Saudi Arabia (Shayba oilfield) & Iran. Military Treaty: Great Britain in 1971 & US in 1995 & Italy and France in 2009.

The UAE Military Force. Manpower 100,000 Total military personal UAE Air Force 489 Total aircraft strength Fighter Aircrafts Attack Aircrafts 146 Multirole aircraft 202 Total Helicopter UAE Land Forces Armored 5813 Armored Fighting Vehicles 388 Combat Tanks 183 Self-propelled Artillery 306 Rocket Artillery UAE Naval Forces 72 Total Naval Assets Frigates 11 Corvettes

Additional Military Criteria’s(UAE) Military Spending: UAE Ranking is the17th largest military spender in 2017.The military spending is 22,8 billion $ that means 5.7% of the GDP. Most of buying’s are from: US ($8 billion, In 2013, it obtained an additional 30 F-16s air-to-ground munitions ) Europe, and Russia MOU. Military industry: Emirates Defense Industries Company (EDIC in 2014). NIMR automotive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiLV0UbU9Lw

GCC & NATO Saudi Arabia and Oman neither responded positively nor rejected officially ( Why?) Oman: To refrain from spoiling ties with Iran, Not to harm Oman’s active neutralization foreign policy or not to imbalance triangle policy of Oman, Preference of bilateral agreements with the US, UK and France instead of NATO. Saudi Arabia: The GCC has its own security institutions (PSF). “The US military bases have already been deployed in the Gulf countries. If the PSF is not enough to handle any potential issue, then at that time, NATO and GCC could work together”.

Conclusion. Security deficiency (Bahrain and Qatar) have small armed forces. “Spending more on defense alone is not sufficient for guaranteeing security. What is more, the security situation is likely to worsen rather than improve over the years as the region is likely to face even more turmoil”. KSA has built significant progress in building modern and effective military forces. However, it still encounters major dilemmas in the leadership and organization of its armed forces. It also has important issues in manpower numbers, quality, and command. Also, it has lack of experience.

List of References. A. (2016, November 24). General Information about The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.stats.gov.sa/en/4025 Geography of United Arab Emirates. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://fanack.com/united-arab- emirates/geography/ Saudi Arabia signs agreement to manufacture Russian weapons locally. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/10/05/Saudi-Arabian-Military-Industries-signs-agreement-to- manucafture-Russian-weapons-locally-.html Elgot, J. (2017, October 24). UK sales of arms and military kit to Saudi Arabia hit £1.1bn in 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/24/uk-sales-of-arms-and-military- equipment-to-saudi-arabia-2017 Donald Trump Saudi Arabia Arms Deal: Dangerous Weapons. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://time.com/4792707/trump-arms-deal-saudi-arabia/

List of References. Saudi Arabia - Army, Navy, Air Force. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://armedforces.eu/Saudi_Arabia Jeremy Binnie - IHS Jane's Defence Industry. (n.d.). Saudi Arabia and Russia sign S-400 MOU. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://www.janes.com/article/74677/saudi-arabia-and-russia-sign-s-400-mou 2017 Saudi Arabia Military Strength. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=saudi-arabia Yenigün, Cüneyt . "Gulf Security, NATO and ICI: Two and a Half." INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NATO’S APPROACH TO GULF COOPERATION, October 2013, 1-17. Yenigün, Cüneyt. "Oman Security Perspectives and NATO Relations." NATO, Cooperative Security, and the Middle East – Status and Prospects, December 2016, 1-34.