Bahrain: GCC working on joint missile defense

BAHRAIN: Gulf states are cooperating on regional missile defense and hope to announce the results soon, said a Bahraini officer, suggesting progress in long-stalled efforts to create a cross-border approach to counter Iran’s growing missile capabilities.
US and GCC officials say the time has come to push ahead as Arab nations start to mount more joint military missions.
Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Khalifah, commander of the Royal Bahraini Air Force, said on the sidelines of an air force conference that a GCC committee was working in a cooperative effort to build joint missile defense.
“We have started, and hopefully it (the result) will be announced soon,” he said in answer to questions, without elaborating.
Obama and GCC countries underscored a commitment to build the defense system at a summit in May 2015, as US moved to assuage Gulf allies’ concerns about a more powerful Iran.
A joint statement following the summit said that the GCC states were committed to developing a ballistic missile defense capability with US technical help.