Experts are warning that recent drone attacks on data centres in the Middle East could signal a new and dangerous trend in regional conflicts. On March 1, Amazon confirmed that two of its data centres in the United Arab Emirates were hit, while a third centre in Bahrain was damaged by debris from a nearby strike.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility, saying the attacks targeted the centres’ role in supporting enemy military and intelligence activities. Analysts say these may be among the first known physical assaults on data centres, which house the infrastructure powering banking apps, cloud services, and artificial intelligence platforms.
Amazon referred inquiries to a health dashboard and declined further comment. As of March 11, several Amazon services remained disrupted in the UAE and Bahrain.
Experts note that data centres are a likely target in future conflicts. Vincent Boulanin, director of the governance of AI programme at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said the facilities are critical for AI capabilities at a national level, providing computing power, storage, and high-speed internet for military and civilian applications.
James Shires, co-director of the British think tank Virtual Routes, said major “hyperscaler” centres, such as those operated by Amazon, Microsoft, and Google Cloud, could be especially at risk if attackers aim to highlight vulnerabilities. Hyperscaler data centres typically house thousands of servers across millions of square feet.
Despite physical protections such as guards, fencing, cameras, fire suppression systems, and backup connectivity, most centres are not designed to withstand air strikes, Shires said. Amazon mitigates risks by separating facilities into “availability zones,” which allow data processing to continue even if one centre is disrupted, though restrictions on data localisation can limit this flexibility.
The experts outlined potential protective measures, including formal recognition of data centres as critical infrastructure and deploying surface-to-air missile systems similar to Israel’s Iron Dome. The United States is reportedly working on a comparable national shield system, nicknamed the “Golden Dome,” to intercept hypersonic, ballistic, and advanced cruise missiles, though no contracts have been confirmed for deployment near data centres.
Legal questions also arise. Under international law, civilian infrastructure is generally protected from attack unless it is clearly supporting military actions. Boulanin noted that it is unclear whether the targeted AWS centres were involved in any military operations, making such strikes potentially unlawful.
Analysts warn that the attacks may have long-term consequences for the region’s digital economy. The UAE hosts roughly 35 data centres, with 42% classified as large facilities. Mordor Intelligence projected the UAE data centre market to grow from $3.29 billion (€2.78 billion) in 2026 to $7.7 billion (€6.5 billion) by 2031, partly due to investments from AI companies like OpenAI and Microsoft.
Shires said the strikes could undermine confidence in future investments, threatening the cloud and AI strategies of the Gulf economies. “Any event like this increases the risk of investment and puts critical infrastructure in a worrying position,” he said.
