ABSTRACT
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States relied on air power to help preserve and strengthen their security requirements and, in peacetime, extended vital airlifts to alleviate human suffering whenever national disasters occurred throughout the region and beyond. Against determined ideological challenges and with limited capabilities, GCC States relied on intrinsic forces to defend themselves, as most ushered in dramatic transformations. Notwithstanding sociopolitical shortcomings, there were several problems facing GCC militaries in general and air forces in particular, which failed to anticipate future concerns, challenges, and responses. GCC air force officers were likewise challenged by limited strategic intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, which were amply demonstrated in the ongoing War for Yemen. The process was even more complex with respect to very limited unmanned aircraft capabilities even if all six GCC member-states sought to purchase such equipment from a variety of sources including China.
