Sea power in focus again in Middle East amid joint drills, defense exhibitions

The UAE is hosting important defense exhibitions in the coming week. One of them is IDEX and, held alongside it, the important naval exhibition called NAVDEX. This year has already seen ships arriving in the UAE for the NAVDEX event. The UAE pro-government newspaper The National noted that “Naval vessels from around the world sailed into Abu Dhabi for the launch of one of the region’s largest defence exhibitions, which begins on Monday. Navdex 2023 will be held alongside the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre until Friday, February 24.” 

The vessels are arriving at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center Waterfront Adnec port and Zayed port. According to a report at Naval News, Commodore Rashid Al-Muhaisni, Chairman of the Organizing Committee for NAVDEX 2023, said: “The current edition of the NAVDEX exhibition is expected to see a significant growth in the number of exhibiting companies, and a wide display of the latest innovative technologies in the maritime defence industry. Since the launch of its first edition 12 years ago, NAVDEX has succeeded in reaffirming its position as one of the leading global platforms that brings together experts and specialists from all over the world, to establish partnerships and explore opportunities to promote vital sectors.” 

Putting the spotlight back on sea power

Vessels are coming from all around the world, including the UK, India, China, Bahrain, Italy and local vessels from the UAE. Some 60 countries are also displaying defense technology. This includes Israeli companies such as Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Since the Abraham Accords, Israeli defense companies have been pursuing deals in the UAE and can attend exhibitions like this. What is important amid Navdex is the new technology being rolled out in the region. According to The National, “in 2021, Idex recorded the largest total of financial deals in its history, with close to Dh21 billion worth of contracts agreed.”

There are a lot of moves taking place in the region in the naval realm that puts the spotlight back on sea power. After two decades of the global war on terror, where countries concentrated on counter-insurgency, today conventional wars are back in the spotlight. That also means that navies are back in the spotlight. In particular certain aspects of naval warfare are in the spotlight. One aspect is the “littoral” battlefield, where navies have to be able to deal with threats along the coast. This matters in the Middle East and the Pacific.

As navies and defense companies look forward to NAVDEX, Brazil also turned over command of a multinational naval task force to the Republic of Korea during a one-hour ceremony at the US Navy base in Bahrain on February 16, according to a statement. “Republic of Korea Navy Rear Adm. Ko Seung-bum assumed command of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 from Brazilian Navy Rear Adm. Nelson de Oliveira Leite. Established in 2009, CTF 151 is one of four task forces under Combined Maritime Forces, the largest naval partnership in the world with 38 member nations and partners. CTF 151 conducts maritime security operations to deter, disrupt and suppress piracy and armed robbery at sea, outside the Horn of Africa,” the 34-member Combined Maritime Forces said.

That handover was important, as is the work of Task Force 59 which has been developing new unmanned vessels for use in the region. This force is based in Bahrain and is part of the innovations taking place in the region to use new technology at sea. At the same time, Iran’s threats at sea continue. Iran used drones to target commercial ships on February 10 and also in November 2022. Furthermore, Iran’s navy is currently conducting an “around the world” tour to show off its power.

Eastern Mediterranean countries are focusing on their Naval capabilities as well. The French Frigate Alsace recently docked in Haifa. The Frigate is one of the most modern in the French navy and focuses on air defenses. In addition, the US and Israel have conducted two recent joint drills, Juniper Oak and Juniper Falcon. Juniper Falcon focused on missile defense and other issues. Juniper Falcon was a continuation of a series of annual exercises between the US military and the IDF, US Central Command said. It is a sister exercise to Juniper Oak and Juniper Cobra, which are held on a biannual rotation. Juniper Oak concluded last month, and Juniper Cobra is scheduled for the summer of 2024. The Israeli navy has conducted joint drills with other countries, such as the Noble Dina exercise that took place last year with Greece, France, Cyprus and the US. There are also naval drills in the Red Sea.

At the same time, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah recently threatened Israel even though Israel and Lebanon signed a maritime deal last year. "If there is procrastination regarding the issue of oil and gas from Lebanese waters, will we allow Israel to continue extracting oil and gas from Karish? I tell you never, this means if you want us to starve, we will kill you, and I thought well of what I said," warned Nasrallah, last week.

These various issues reflect how the maritime area matters more than in the past. As conventional wars return, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, navies are all increasing their power around the world. The US navy is trying to keep up with China, for instance. Israel has new Sa’ar 6 warships and countries like France are looking to develop a new aircraft carrier. At the same time, naval ships need new technology, such as systems that can confront drones. These types of systems are on display at NAVDEX.

The overall trend shows that from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman, there is an increased focus on naval issues such as securing seaways and defending against threats such as drones. The fact that Iran continues to use drones to target ships hundreds of miles from Iran’s coast, shows part of the threat. Another threat is Iran smuggling weapons to the Houthis in Yemen. Countries in the region that have advanced defense systems for their navies are increasingly trying to keep one step ahead of adversaries.