UAE shows its mettle at Idex

Local companies bagged the lion's share of UAE defence contracts worth Dh4 billion (US$1.08bn) at the International Defence Exhibition (Idex) yesterday.

About three quarters of the contracts awarded went to UAE companies or partnerships between local companies and international players.

Emiraje Systems, a joint venture between C4 Advanced Solutions, based in Abu Dhabi, and the UK's EADS Defence & Security, received the biggest contract, worth Dh2bn.

The partnership will implement a surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance system for the UAE Armed Forces.

The deal is the biggest to be signed at Idex, which is held in the capital, after contracts totalling Dh4.5bn were announced on Monday.

Overall, analysts estimate defence contracts worth Dh20bn are up for grabs at the week-long exhibition, and local companies have so far won Dh6bn worth of deals.

Major Gen Obaid al Ketbi, the spokesman for Idex who announced the contracts, said those companies had improved their capabilities since last year.

"They have been spending a lot of money on research and development since the last Idex," Major Gen al Ketbi said.

The general was quick to make it clear that the UAE Armed Forces had not compromised on quality by opting for local companies with limited experience compared with their international counterparts.

"The national companies have a strategy in both defence and civil development," he said. "Most companies we have agreed deals with today are in high-tech joint ventures with international companies so we are assured of the quality of the product."

C4 Advanced Solutions was founded in 2006 to be the IT arm of Emirates Advanced Investment.

The Emiraje deal marks a global shift away from developing platforms, such as ships, tanks and aircraft, towards cybersecurity and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

The UAE plans to avoid the capital and labour-intensive industries that growing economies traditionally develop, to build an industrial economy based on niche and high-end technology.

Abu Dhabi is focused on technologies such as composite facial recognition systems, semi-conductors, unmanned systems and energy security.

The UAE Armed Forces also purchased detection and surveillance equipment from IGG for Dh393 million.

Bayanat, a newly formed subsidiary of Mubadala Development, was awarded a Dh326 million contract to provide military geospatial surveying, air photography and map production analysis. Mubadala is a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government.

Homaid al Shemmari, the executive director for business development at Mubadala Aerospace, said the UAE had "strived" to increase its capabilities to ensure the security of the region, particularly as the region produces 40 per cent of the world's oil.

"The announcements you see today are a results of the success, particularly in technology and services, the UAE has had in diversifying the economy," Mr al Shemmari said.

Mubadala is in talks on further deals and is expected to announce details this week.

Major deals were also announced with international players after Goodrich Company, based in the US, was awarded a Dh297m contract for upgrades of F-16 fighter jets with reconnaissance pods, and France's Dassault Aviation agreed to upgrade its Mirage 2000 fighter with new ammunition systems.

Nexter Systems, also based in France, was also awarded a Dh423m deal for technical support for the Leclerc tank.

rjones@thenational.ae