Weak Sisters

Saudi Arabia is fabulously wealthy, so why hasn't it used more of its wealth to provide itself with minimal self-defense? My answer is in multiple parts: Israel, the US, and the Monarchy. Israel clearly wants to keep the Saudis weak, and the US government is largely controlled by Israel in such matters. Still, the Saudis have had a few trillion in disposable income this past quarter century or so, so you would think they could find somebody who would sell them a decent Air Force.

I suspect that the ultimate reason they have not is the Monarchy's fear that a strong military might prove fatally inconvenient to them. Ditto the mullahs. Consequently, Saudi Arabia remains flyover country for the Israeli Air Force.

Iran has been hobbled by the sanctions imposed on it, but the role of the Russians is pivotal. They may not relish the idea of a nuclear armed Iran next door, but they have also got to be nervous about US force projection in Iraq. They have signalled this by selling some anti-aircraft missiles to the Iranians, but these should be considered of more symbolic than real importance. If, on the other hand, they wanted to stymie Israel, and perhaps even the US, they could sell Iran, say, a few hundred of their top of the line interceptors, and three years training for each pilot.

China also wants leverage in the Gulf. I'm not sure what they have for aircraft, but if they are smart, and aren't they always, they may be tempted to skip a generation of fighter aircraft. Everyone knows that the manned fighter aircraft is obsolete. Everybody's next generation fighter aircraft will be a robot, so why not go right for it?

Minus pilots, fighter aircraft will be smaller, cheaper, faster, and more maneuverable. He who takes the plunge first might wind up with air supremacy. Or fail utterly, following Rockefeller's dictum that "pioneering don't pay."

Fortunately for Israel and us, the Arab states lack the technological base to create such a thing. But they do have all that cash.