Iraq is in talks to procure new counter-drone systems to protect its airspace, a senior military officer said on Sunday.
Lt Gen Maan Al Saadi's remarks came on the eve of a drone attack on Baghdad's international airport on Monday, just hours after a ceremony was held outside to commemorate the second anniversary of the deaths of Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis in an American drone strike on January 3, 2020, near Baghdad airport.
Al Muhandis was the de facto head of the country's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) and leader of the Iran-backed PMF group Kataib Hezbollah.
The attack on the Suleimani-Muhandis convoy followed a lethal tit-for-tat escalation between Iran-backed elements of the PMF and US forces based in Iraq as part of the global anti-ISIS coalition. It led then prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to briefly suspend coalition flights over Iraqi territory.
But two years after the killings, which nearly sparked a regional conflict, Iraq's airspace has become a battleground for an array of different drone systems.
Drone attacks on joint Iraqi-US bases, attributed to Iran-backed militias, increased last year.
On November 7, bomb-laden drones were used in a failed assassination attempt on Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi at his official residence. Six bodyguards were injured.
The attack followed threatening comments against Mr Al Kadhimi by leaders of Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl Al Haq, both Iran-backed militias in the PMF.
Kataib Hezbollah spokesman Abu Ali Al Askari previously accused Mr Al Kadhimi of being an American agent who was responsible for the deaths of Suleimani and Al Muhandis, the militia's former leader.
Iran-backed elements of the PMF have been angered by Mr Al Kadhimi's failure to punish or expel coalition forces following lethal US air strikes on their positions.
According to analysts Michael Knights and Hamdi Malik at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Kataib Hezbollah leads PMF drone operations.
Detecting drones
The Iraqi authorities said the two small quadcopter drones used in the attack on Mr Al Kadhimi were locally made.
Photos released by Iraqi forces of a bomb carried by one of the drones showed a design similar to a device developed by Iran-backed militias.
The black bomb contained a copper charge known as an explosively formed penetrator, which US forces say is a signature weapon of Iran-backed groups.
Lt Gen Saadi, the head of the army's Air Defence Command, said Iraq had anti-drone systems that can detect small devices "but they are limited and there's only a few available".
He said the government wants to "obtain better-quality systems to address threats that affect officials and vital places in Iraq, especially in Baghdad and other provinces".
Lt Gen Saadi said Iraq's Defence Council had approved the plan to expand the military's anti-drone capability.
"We have had offers from international companies but negotiations are still ongoing," he said.
The officer, who previously commanded a brigade of Iraq's US-trained Counter Terrorism Service, said the military already has "radar detection systems as well as communications and electronic jamming systems".
"We can also counter long and medium-range missiles," he said.
Iraq currently uses short-range air defence systems such as the American-made Avenger, which the US has installed at its bases in Syria to bolster their defences against Iranian drones. Iraq also has the Russian Pantsir system, which can also be used against drones.
"We need more of that," Lt Gen Saadi said, suggesting that Iraq might purchase the new Russian S-500 missile system, which its designers say can counter small drones as well as aircraft.
But purchasing new systems might not solve the drone problem. Much of the latest technology is untested in combat, according to an analyst at Aurora Intel, a security consultancy.
"These drones are non-conventional war munitions, which have only seen one actual war for use, so the major players haven’t really made any true advances in countering them," the analyst, who asked to remain anonymous, told The National.
"Loitering munitions have an advantage at the moment, in that they have advanced far quicker than the technology designed to stop them," he said, referring to systems sometimes called "kamikaze drones".
World powers, including the US and China, are still developing the next generation of anti-drone systems, including ground-based lasers, jamming devices and AI-assisted systems.
A significant problem is detecting small, low-flying objects that are often not large enough to appear on radar.
Growing threat
The drones used in Iraqi attacks range from crude devices built by ISIS to more advanced craft flown by the PMF, some of which are supplied by Iran.
In the final stages of the battle against ISIS in 2017, the terrorist group launched armed quadcopter drones, classed as lightweight Group 1 drones by the US military, against Iraqi forces trying to retake the city of Mosul.
The security forces attempted to counter them using the Taiwanese Raysun MD1 system, a jamming device which disrupts the signal between the drone operator and the device.
In June, Balad airbase, which hosted US contractors working with Iraq's air force, came under attack from mortar bombs and drones, an incident some blamed on the PMF. In the same month, security forces outside of Baghdad claimed to have shot down two drones, one of which resembled a system similar to Iranian designs.
In May, explosive drones struck the coalition's sprawling Al Asad base in western Iraq, a US base in Erbil – the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region – and a coalition facility in the Baghdad airport complex.
There were more drone attacks on Al Asad base in June, prompting US air strikes against suspected drone sites on July 27. In December, armed drones were used in an unsuccessful attack on the US consulate in Erbil.
The US has used a range of systems, including the C-Ram system, which can fire 4,500 rounds a minute, and new laser systems to defend joint facilities and its embassy in Baghdad. These are more advanced systems than Iraq's government currently possesses.
The biog
From: Ras Al Khaimah
Age: 50
Profession: Electronic engineer, worked with Etisalat for the past 20 years
Hobbies: 'Anything that involves exploration, hunting, fishing, mountaineering, the sea, hiking, scuba diving, and adventure sports'
Favourite quote: 'Life is so simple, enjoy it'
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
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The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
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How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
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The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
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Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
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The Brutalist
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Fight Night
FIGHT NIGHT
Four title fights:
Amir Khan v Billy Dib - WBC International title
Hughie Fury v Samuel Peter - Heavyweight co-main event
Dave Penalosa v Lerato Dlamini - WBC Silver title
Prince Patel v Michell Banquiz - IBO World title
Six undercard bouts:
Michael Hennessy Jr v Abdul Julaidan Fatah
Amandeep Singh v Shakhobidin Zoirov
Zuhayr Al Qahtani v Farhad Hazratzada
Lolito Sonsona v Isack Junior
Rodrigo Caraballo v Sajid Abid
Ali Kiydin v Hemi Ahio
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
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Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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