In what appears to be a first, a country’s military has deliberately targeted a commercial data center during wartime.
At 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, an Iranian Shahed-136 drone struck an Amazon Web Services data center in the United Arab Emirates. The attack triggered a devastating fire and forced a shutdown of the power supply. Further damage occurred when water was used to fight the flames.
Soon after, a second data center owned by the U.S. tech company was hit. Reports then indicated a third center, this time in Bahrain, was in trouble after an Iranian suicide drone exploded into a fireball upon striking nearby land.
Iranian state TV claimed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched the attack “to identify the role of these centers in supporting the enemy’s military and intelligence activities.”
The network built by Jeff Bezos’s company could withstand one of its regional centers going offline, but not a second, let alone a third of its massive technology warehouses. The coordinated strike had an immediate impact.
On Monday, millions of people in Dubai and Abu Dhabi woke up unable to pay for a taxi, order food delivery, or check their bank balances using mobile apps. While the military impact is unclear, the strikes swiftly brought the war directly into the lives of the UAE’s 11 million residents, 90% of whom are foreign nationals. Amazon has advised its clients to secure their data outside the region.
Perhaps more significantly, these strikes on a ‘next-generation’ war target are raising questions about the UAE’s ambitions—and the billions of dollars in U.S. and foreign investment—to capitalize on what it hopes will be the ‘new oil’: artificial intelligence (AI).
“The UAE really wants to be a major AI player,” said Chris McGuire, an AI and technology competition expert who served on the White House National Security Council under President Joe Biden. “Their government has very strong conviction about this technology, probably stronger than any other government in the world. If security questions start to arise around that, they’re going to have to resolve them very quickly, somehow.”
A data center is a facility designed to store, manage, and process digital data. The growing business demand for AI and cloud computing—where companies use servers, storage, and software on a pay-as-you-go basis—is driving the need for centers with significantly greater computational power. This requires a ready and consistent supply of very cheap electricity.
As the UAE seeks to diversify away from fossil fuels, it can point to having this electricity in abundance, along with a huge sovereign wealth fund ready to invest in and subsidize projects.
According to Turner & Townsend’s Global Data Centre Index, the overall global cost of data center construction increased by 5.5% in 2025. However, the UAE ranks 44th out of 52 in terms of the most expensive unit cost per watt.
The UAE’s geography also makes it a critical landing point for subsea cables, providing a connection between Europe and Asia. Then there are the geopolitical factors, with the U.S. keen to keep Gulf states away from Chinese technology.
A four-day tour of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE by Donald Trump last May coincided with the announcement of a vast new AI campus—a partnership between the UAE and the U.S.—intended for training powerful AI models. As part of the deal, the Trump administration eased restrictions on advanced chip sales to the Gulf. OpenAI has said the planned UAE campus could eventually serve as a major hub for AI development.Half the world’s population could be affected.
US President Donald Trump met with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi last year during his four-day tour of Gulf states.
McGuire suggested this week’s events could be pivotal. “If we’re going to have large-scale data centers built in the Middle East, we’re going to have to get serious about protecting them,” he said. “Right now, we think about protection in terms of guards and good cybersecurity. But if we’re really committing to the Middle East, it might mean missile defense for data centers.”
Sean Gorman, CEO of the technology firm Zephr.xyz, which contracts with the U.S. Air Force, said Gulf states’ ambitions have likely been on the minds of military planners in Tehran.
“I believe the Iranians are building on tactics they’ve seen work in Ukraine. Asymmetric warfare that targets critical infrastructure puts pressure on adversaries by disrupting public safety and economic activity,” he said.
“The UAE and Bahrain have both been positioning themselves as global AI hubs by investing heavily in data centers and fiber infrastructure to connect them to the world. Disrupting that infrastructure risks their strategic position and harms the economy. There could also be some impact on defense operations, though that would likely be more by chance than by design.”
Gorman noted the UAE has a “long track record of managing regional instability without getting involved,” but added there are multiple risks beyond aerial threats.
“The UAE has one of the most diverse submarine cable landing environments in the Middle East, but that diversity is uneven geographically. There are multiple landing stations and cable systems, but many are concentrated on the east coast at Fujairah, creating a partial geographic chokepoint.”
He also highlighted cyber risks: “There is a specific threat from Iranian cyber operations targeting U.S.-aligned digital infrastructure in the Gulf, which poses a more immediate danger to data centers and cloud operations than traditional geographic risks.”
Gorman said the key concern would be if Iran shows further ability to target Gulf digital infrastructure in retaliation. “The UAE will need to demonstrate to partners that its infrastructure is defensible. That’s what investors should be asking—not just whether the broader AI ambition can survive.”
Vili Lehdonvirta, a senior fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, said such defenses come at significant cost, but the danger is real. Eric Schmidt, former chair of the U.S. National Security Commission on AI, suggested last year that a country falling behind in an AI race might bomb its rival’s data centers.
Lehdonvirta said he doubts anyone actually expects data centers to be bombed, even though such scenarios have been discussed openly. “If that changes, we might see major data center operators like AWS investing in air defense, similar to how shipping companies armed themselves against pirates.”
Where might Iran strike next?
“The Iranians will be well aware that the fiber-optic cables connecting these data centers to the U.S. and the rest of the world run through the Strait of Hormuz,” Lehdonvirta said, “although they’ll be closely watched by the U.S.”and allied forces.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about how drone attacks are impacting the Gulfs ambitions to become an AI superpower
Beginner Definition Questions
1 What does it mean for the Gulf to be an AI superpower
It means countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE aim to be global leaders in artificial intelligencenot just using the technology but also in researching it building the powerful computers needed to run it and creating a major AI industry that attracts talent and investment
2 Why are drone attacks a problem for AI development
AI requires massive sensitive and alwayson data centers Drone attacks pose a direct physical threat to these buildings A successful strike could destroy expensive hardware cause massive data loss and disrupt critical AI services making the region seem like an unstable place to build such vital infrastructure
3 Whats the connection between missiles and data centers
Modern data centers are essentially the brains of the AI economy They house thousands of servers that process and store information While they have backup power and internet they are not typically built to withstand missile or drone impacts A direct hit could be catastrophic
Impact Risk Questions
4 How do drone attacks actually cast doubt on the Gulfs AI plans
Investors and tech companies need certainty The risk of physical attack adds a major layer of instability and cost This can make global companies think twice about building their most valuable AI assets in the region choosing more physically secure locations instead
5 Arent these data centers built to be secure
They are highly secure against cyberattacks and have robust backups for power and data However they are generally industrial buildings not military bunkers They are not designed to withstand kinetic attacks from drones or missiles which is a new type of threat for civilian infrastructure
6 Cant they just rebuild if a data center is hit
Yes but the damage goes beyond hardware The greater loss would be trust and continuity For AI systems powering everything from smart cities to financial markets even a few hours of downtime can cost billions and shatter client confidence Rebuilding hardware is possible rebuilding a reputation for reliability is much harder
Solutions Advanced Questions
7 What kind of missile defense systems are needed
They would need integrated
