JEDDAH: Global and regional changes make it crucial for the Kingdom to have fighting capabilities to face any new threat, said Prince Khaled Bin Sultan, Assistant Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General for Military Affairs. He was speaking at the International Symposium for Air Defense 2020, which was launched on Sunday. “The Kingdom's policy is clear – to protect all its regions and to work within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the GCC agreements and treaties.” In a statement to the press, Prince Khaled said the international symposium will be tasked with drafting reports on how to face any future threat from long-range missiles or advanced aircraft. Commenting on events in the region and statements by Iran that it would not stand back and do nothing about events in Bahrain, Prince Khaled said the situation should be approached with “reason”; to ensure Gulf and regional security with a strong deterrent force. He said discussions are taking place among the GCC countries on setting up a military force to protect the Gulf. “The proposal is … represented by the Peninsula Shield Forces that have experience in this field. It will develop in future after discussions on all aspects; whether it is a rapid intervention force or a force to deal with environmental events.” He confirmed that the gathering of Arab and friendly countries in the Kingdom is to achieve a defense system of various weapons, including aircraft, air-surface missiles, helicopter-borne missiles, ballistic missiles, rocket launchers and mortars. “Our goal is to deter by force with the ultimate aim of achieving peace,” he stressed. Prince Khaled said there are two central aspects of this defense strategy: to protect national interests everywhere and also to destroy the enemy's capabilities for missile and air counter- attacks. He said a great deal of planning and cooperation will be needed to make sure this is an effective defense system. There needs to be integration of air, land and sea weapons and ammunitions systems. This includes ensuring command, control, communications and intelligence centers work together efficiently. There also needs to be proper planning and integration of the various forces in joint operations and combat activities. He said he recently came across a study conducted by the US Army in 2002 that mapped out future challenges facing air and missile defense systems in the next 20 years. He said he was impressed by the research adopted by the US army officials. There will be 50 major presentations by speakers at the symposium. Discussions will be moderated by elite military commanders from various parts of the world. Topics to be covered include air and missile defense from the present until 2020 and beyond.
