-255fa678dc415d11626d5ba395b53039.png "Airbus reusable interceptor, Bird of Prey, launches Frankenburg Mark 1 anti-drone missile, March 30, 2026. (Source: Airbus)")
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-13e19343e660f1863492951ad4bfd46f.jpg "Oerlikon Skynex air defense system in Italy. (Source: Rheinmetall)")
-bfd07b2c04922e244847e2ef1a0dd9aa.jpeg "The severed tail of a US Air Force E-3 Sentry (AWACS) lies in ruins after a reported Iranian drone and missile strike at a Saudi air base. (Source: OSINT)")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
![Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. (Source: Getty Images)]( "Smoke rises from the direction of an energy installation in the Gulf emirate of Fujairah on March 14, 2026. (Source: Getty Images)")
![Thales RapidRanger air defense system. (Source: Thales)]( "Thales RapidRanger air defense system. (Source: Thales)")
![A portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appears next to a Russian flag before a news conference at the Vahdat Hall in downtown Tehran, Iran, on June 10, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)]( "A portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, appears next to a Russian flag before a news conference at the Vahdat Hall in downtown Tehran, Iran, on June 10, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)")
![Ukrainian representative shaking hands with his Saudi Arabian colleague after signing a defense cooperation agreement, March 27, 2026. (Source: Ukrainian President’s press service)]( "Ukrainian representative shaking hands with his Saudi Arabian colleague after signing a defense cooperation agreement, March 27, 2026. (Source: Ukrainian President’s press service)")
![Three batteries of the US-made Patriot anti-missile missiles are lit up by the sunset on 25 January 1991 in the Saudi Arabian desert during the Gulf War against Iraq. (Source: Getty Images)]( "Three batteries of the US-made Patriot anti-missile missiles are lit up by the sunset on 25 January 1991 in the Saudi Arabian desert during the Gulf War against Iraq. (Source: Getty Images)")
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
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The oil-rich states of the Persian Gulf have built one of the most advanced air and missile defense networks on the planet—but recent combat experience suggests even this layered shield may struggle against a sustained Iranian drone and missile assault, raising urgent questions about the security of US forces and allies across the region.![Illustrative photo of a Russian Geran-2 (Shahed-136) attack drone marked “Ы18358”. (Source: Kazinform)]( "Illustrative photo of a Russian Geran-2 (Shahed-136) attack drone marked “Ы18358”. (Source: Kazinform)")
