Defence and Security Policy
Kuwait is in a dangerous region and pushed the country to reinforce its defence capabilities and reassess security priorities. The country since its independence faced two major threats a) Dangerous neighbors and b) Terrorism. Within a period of 30 years, Kuwait was threatened and invaded by its neighbor Iraq.
Firstly, Kuwait was threatened from Iraq with a full-scale invasion in 1961 but was deter by the British. Eventually Iraq invaded to Kuwait in 1990 almost 30 years later and occupied the country for 7 months after losing the war against an multinational military coalition under the UN auspices, led by the U.S.
The second most dangerous neighbor for Kuwait was and still is, Iran which exploited the grievances of Kuwait’s Shiite population (According to the Strategic Studies Institute the Shia constituted 40% of the total population in 2008) to stoke unrest in the state. Tehran’s domination of Shiite political parties in Iraq is particularly concerning for Kuwait as the later is also home to a sizeable and political active Shia population.
In case of an open conflict Iran’s military and its asymmetrical forces represent a significant threat. Iran can rely in an array of proxy militias. It is important to mention that Iran’s most violent proxies such as Asa’ib, Ahl Al-Haq, Kata’ib Hezbollah and the Badr Brigades are based in Southern Iraq. Furthermore, Iran’s Armed Forces and the IRGC Navy, represent a real threat for Kuwait both forces have the capabilities to interrupt the oil exports of Kuwait and damage its oil infrastructure.
The second most important threat for Kuwait is terrorism. Since 2015 Kuwait has been the target of several terrorist attacks. In 2016 alone Kuwaiti authorities thwarted three major terrorist plots targeting Shiite Mosques, planned by radicalized youth that had joined Daesh. The terror group’s strategy was to create chaos by igniting sectarian tensions. The immediate threat posed by Daesh prompted Kuwait to host and support US-led forces fighting the Group in Iraq and Syria and enhance cooperation with NATO.
The liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation brought the country closer to the U.S furthermore the foreign policy of the country has been dominated by its economic dependence on oil and natural gas. As a result Kuwait has direct considerable attention toward oil or natural gas related issues. When the second war in Iraq started in 2003 Kuwait sided with the U.S having been the nation from which the war was actually launched.
While Kuwait’s defence capabilities are more modest than many of its neighbors its Defence Cooperation Agreement with the U.S has long guaranteed the country’s access to cutting-edge weapon systems. In 2017 the Parliament of Kuwait voted to re-introduced military conscription and approved a USD10 Billion package to fund defence modernization covering the procurement of defence systems such as fighter jets, tanks, and air defence systems until 2026.
This new Kuwaiti military equipment procurement program is still on progress and is mostly focused on the procurement of new fighter jets of air superiority and the upgrade of its Army’s main battle tanks.
Defence Budget, Defence Procurements and Defence Procurements Policy
Since its independence Kuwait has been spending a considerable amount of money for its defence. Few years before the Iraqi invasion in 1990, Kuwait did not have a considerable defence budget. Everything changed the year of the invasion when the Government decided to increase its defence budget from USD2.08 Billion in 1989 to USD8.96 Billion in 1990.
The increase of the defence budget continued in 1991 when the budget reached to USD12.92 Billion because of the war and the procurement of new weapon systems. The end of the war led to the sudden dramatic reduction of the defence budget of Kuwait. The new budget of 1992 was reduced compared to 1991 by almost five-fold and reached to USD6.32 Billion.
The reduction of the defence budget continued in 1993 when the budget reached to USD2.98 Billion. The following six years the defence budget of Kuwait increased (from USD2.98 Billion in 1993 to USD3.69 Billion in 1995) and then decrease again (from USD3.69 Billion in 1995 to USD2.29 Billion in 1999).
The beginning of the new millennium introduced a significant increase of the defence budget by 321% till 2019 when the budget reached to USD7.37 Billion. The Covid-19 Pandemic led to the reduction of the budget in 2020 when the Kuwaiti defence budget reached to USD6.94 Billion. The following year the Parliament of Kuwait approved an important increase of the budget by 37% in real terms, with defence spending reaching USD9.6 Billion. Throughout the last 11 years the defence budget of Kuwait represented an average rate of 10% of the General Expenditure of the Government and an average rate of 4.65% of the GDP of the country.
The last 11 years Kuwait spent billion of US Dollars to procure from U.S, Italy and France weapon systems.
The first major arms contract included the procurement of 3 KC-130J Super Hercules from the U.S in 2010 for USD569.6 Million. Three years later in 2013 Kuwait bought from the U.S two C-17A Globemaster III heavy transport heavy aircraft. The next major arms contract was given to France and included the procurement of 120 Sherpa Light Scout in 2015 for 119.84 Million Euro and 300 additional Sherpas Light Scouts vehicles in 2016 under a 298.78 Million Euros contract.
The fourth major procurement program was the contract for 30 Airbus H225M transport helicopters in 2016 costing 1.23 Billion Euros.
The following major procurement contract signed in 2016 and included the order for 6 Batteries of Patriot PAC3 long-range air defence missile systems from the U.S for USD523.39 Million.
The next major order included the procurement of 28 Eurofighter Typhoons Tranche 3A as well as weapons systems from Italy and Britain in April 2016 for USD8.1 Billion. Two years later in March 2018 Kuwait ordered from the U.S 28 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet at a cost of USD5.2 Billion.
The next most important armament program was signed in December 2017 and included the upgrade of the 218 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks of the Kuwaiti Army to the level M1A2K for USD1.7 Billion.
The Kuwaiti armaments procurement program has not been completed since the country is seeking to order attack helicopters from U.S. The new procurement is going to be financed by the USD10 Billion budget approved in 2017 for the modernization of the Armed Forces of the country.