The head of Israel’s missile program in the Defense Ministry said Tuesday that he is open to cooperation on missile defense with Gulf Arab countries that would benefit both sides.
“From an engineering point of view, of course there is a lot of advantage. That information can be shared, like sensors that can be deployed in both countries because we have the same enemies,” said Moshe Patel, the head of missile defense Organization that is part of the Defense Ministry.
Although Patel said the United States would have to first approve if any cooperation involved systems that include U.S. proprietary technology, Gulf countries have previously talked to Israel about obtaining missile defense systems.
In October, sources told Israel’s Globes business newspaper that several Gulf states were interested in buying electronic missile defense systems from Israel, as well as actual military hardware to defend oil installations against missile attack. Those contacts came following several attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen and missile attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf.
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