WASHINGTON: A senior US military leader said the US is building innovative military systems in the Middle East designed to counter emerging threats from Iran and other non-state actors in the region.
The commander of the US Central Command, General Michael “Erik” Kurilla, said during a press conference from the CENTCOM headquarters in Tampa, Florida, that the US military had developed three innovative military systems of artificial intelligence to counter expansive Iranian threats on land, air and sea in the region. especially its drone capabilities.
US Central Command, which has its headquarters in Qatar, in addition to its US headquarters, has its area of responsibility in the Middle East region, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other Central Asian republics.
At the briefing attended by Arab News, he said that Iran had developed its capabilities in highly sophisticated drone systems with longer range and more lethal payloads, posing a threat to the United States and its military partners in the region.
“Iranian drones are a threat in the region. Iran controls an arsenal of drone systems ranging from small short-range units to modern intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance units,” he said. “They are building bigger drones that can fly farther with ever deadlier payloads.”
Kurilla said the US military views drone systems today in the same way the US viewed improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, at the start of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said the United States was downsizing its boots on the ground and would instead rely on interconnected artificial intelligence systems that would integrate a military partnership within the region’s militaries.
Kurilla said the United States had developed three separate, sophisticated and interconnected military AI systems, covering land, sea and air capabilities.
He said Task Force 59 would have a fleet of more than 100 seagoing vessels based in Bahrain and Aqaba, Jordan, and they would be operating together, communicating together and providing a common operational picture to all participating militaries.
Qatar-based Task Force 99 will operate aerial drones complete with custom payloads and other operational capabilities to observe, detect and collect data that feeds into an operations center.
Task Group 39 is the ground component that will test the concept and technology, to include a fleet of unmanned ground vehicles paired with manned ground vehicles while providing new technology to defeat Iranian drones.
Kurilla said the United States was still partnering with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the militia groups based in northern Syria, to counter Daesh threats.
“Last week, we carried out a series of raids with our Syrian Democratic Force partners that resulted in the capture of numerous Daesh operatives, including a high-ranking leader,” he said.
Kurilla said that while Daesh’s capabilities in Iraq and Syria had been significantly degraded, the group still retained the ability to conduct operations in the region.
In Iraq, the US general said the US military continued to advise, assist and train Iraqi security forces in the fight against Daesh, which has taken the lead in fighting the group on its soil.
Kurilla said the US would publish a “full summary of our operations to defeat Daesh in Iraq and Syria,” detailing the full tally of Daesh operations, raids, arrests and operatives killed by the US and its partners. .
