UAE Armed Forces & Defence Industry News

[HRK]

UAE Procures Al Tariq Missiles

Nov. 20, 2013 - 12:53PM | By AWAD MUSTAFA

DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) armed forces placed an order at the Dubai Airshow Wednesday to produce an undisclosed quantity of Al Tariq precision-guided weapon systems valued at US $500 million.

The systems, manufactured by Tawazun Dynamics, a member of the Tawazun Group, is a family of strap-on bomb kit systems. According to a statement by the company, the order is part of the Armed Forces General Headquarter’s drive to support home-grown defense manufacturing capabilities and to benefit from Tawazun’s experience in the industrial and manufacturing fields.

The announcement comes amid the US policy trend of not selling precision weapons to Arabian Gulf states.

Last year, the firm signed a joint venture to build a guided-weapons systems facility in Abu Dhabi with South Africa’s largest weapons manufacturer, Denel.

Tawazun Dynamics manufactures, assembles and integrates guidance systems for conventional air munitions to transform them into precision guided weapons exclusively for the UAE Air Force.

The UAE armed forces and Tawazun also signed a contract for the procurement, delivery and integration of the laser-guided TALON missiles.

TALON missile systems are being produced in the UAE under a co-development and production and marketing program between the UAE armed forces and Raytheon Missile Systems.

The second contract states that Tawazun will maintain a full integration of TALON system into the UAE armed forces’ existing rocket systems and deliver a training program on the system for the armed forces’ personnel.

The integration program will also cover platforms of the UAE-made Nimr armored vehicles, which are serving in different units of the UAE armed forces.

Tawazun said in a statement that field testing of the TALON missile system had been completed successfully and Raytheon is finalizing the airworthiness and qualification of TALON systems on Apache helicopters.

UAE Procures Al Tariq Missiles | Defense News | defensenews.com

 

[HRK]

AMMROC To Maintain UAE Aircraft
Nov. 20, 2013 - 12:50PM | By AWAD MUSTAFA

UAE F16s maintained by AMMROC (UAE)
​

DUBAI — Abu Dhabi-based Advanced Military Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Center (AMMROC) has signed a $5.8 billion with the UAE Armed forces, described as the crowning moment of a five-year relationship.

The announcement, made today by the Mubadala-owned company, will give AMMROC responsibility to ensure the operational readiness of the armed forces inventory of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, including military aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul services.

AMMROC Chief Executive Brig. Gen. Fahed Al Shamesi said the signing represents the trust the UAE Armed Forces has in his company’s ability to provide support and readiness.

Launched in July 2010, AMMROC is a joint venture company owned by Mubadala Aerospace, Sikorsky Aerospace Services and Lockheed Martin; it is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

According to Al Shamesi, the company will provide support services for the next two years, initially to all UAE military aircraft.

“This includes the Air Force, Navy, special forces, presidential guards and the Army,” he told Defense News. The agreement will enable the UAE Armed Forces to remain focused on aircraft operations while AMMROC provides maintenance and repair services, he added.

This also reinforces AMMROC’s vision to operate a world class facility providing a self-sustaining, commercially viable platform for the UAE Armed Forces.

The General Headquarters of the UAE Armed Forces anticipates entering into a performance based logistics arrangement with AMMROC, the company said in a statement.

AMMROC To Maintain UAE Aircraft | Defense News | defensenews.com

 

[HRK]

Boeing and Tawazun Precision Industries to Establish New Aerospace Capability in the Middle East
18, Nov 2013

DUBAI- Boeing will partner with Tawazun Precision Industries (TPI), a Tawazun Holding subsidiary, to establish a production aerospace surface treatment facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In a joint announcement with Tawazun today at the Dubai Airshow, company representatives said this partnership introduces a new aerospace manufacturing capability (contradict from above highlighted sentence?) in the Middle East region.

"This endeavor reaffirms our commitment to support the UAE aerospace industry," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. "Investing in the development of key capabilities through partnerships such as this is of mutual benefit to Boeing and the UAE, and advances opportunities for the UAE around the world."

The project, made possible by the Tawazun Economic Council, is scheduled to be commissioned in 2016 in Tawazun Industrial Park in Abu Dhabi. Expanding on TPI's existing manufacturing base, Boeing will provide manufacturing and technology expertise as well as program management best practices to support the new facility as it applies for the required aerospace certifications.

See more at: Boeing and Tawazun Precision Industries to Establish New Aerospace Capability in the Middle East

 

[HRK]

UAE To Bolster Armored Vehicle Fleet | Defense News | defensenews.com

The United Arab Emirates is making additional purchases of Nimr six-wheel-drive armored personnel carriers and four-wheel-drive multipurpose combat vehicles. (NIMR)
DUBAI— The UAE Armed Forces has signed a contract worth more than $820 million for the supply of armored personnel carriers (APCs) and multipurpose combat vehicles (MPCVs) with Emirati auto manufacturer NIMR Automotive, according to a statement released Nov. 18.

The deal, signed at the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces with NIMR Automotive, a member of Tawazun group, will provide for the supply of six-wheel-drive Nimr APCs and four-wheel-drive Nimr MPCVs.

The UAE Armed Forces purchased 500 MPCVs that were delivered between 2007 and 2011 and are used primarily by the elite Presidential Guard units.

Another 800 MPCVs were purchased in February, and the intent to purchase another 1,000 vehicles was announced at the International Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

The latest announcement is a culmination of that work, according to a UAE source. The vehicles will be delivered within the next five years to the armed forces, he added.

The company said the deal was signed following extensive all-terrain tests for the vehicle in the UAE.

The purchase of the six-wheel-drive APC will be the first for the UAE military. The carrier was revealed and launched in January, and was designed and manufactured in the UAE over 18 months, according to Tawazun.

NIMR developed the vehicle based on requirements from the armed forces to withstand desert heat and provide comfort and protection to troops on board.

“The APC was designed with a V-shaped hull to withstand blast weights of up to 8 kilograms,” a spokesperson for NIMR Automotive said.

“We have tested the vehicle in all terrains, and it can handle 7.62mm armor-piercing rounds, and has run-flat tires with a central tire inflation system.”

The 14-ton vehicle has a range of 700 kilometers on one tank of fuel, has a top speed of 135 kilometers per hour, and can withstand chemical, biological and nuclear attacks.

“The air conditioning system is designed to operate by blocking out poisonous materials from biological, chemical and nuclear environments,” the spokesman added.

The Armed Forces General Headquarters said the decision to purchase the two variants emanated from its keen interest to keep abreast of the latest in global defense industries and to support national industrial capabilities.

“The vehicle exceeded the GHQ’s required operational standards in terms of design, performance, mobility and others,” a statement from the UAE Armed Forces said.

Tawazun CEO H.E. Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri expressed determination to use all resources, capabilities, expertise and best practices to ensure timely delivery of the vehicles.

The contract is timed with the company’s plans to open its state-of-the-art facilities within Tawazun Industrial Park in Abu Dhabi to meet the huge demand for Nimr armored vehicles, said NIMR Automotive CEO Fahad Saif Harhara.

 

[HRK]

Russia To Conduct Test Flights of Emirati Drone | Defense News | defensenews.com

DUBAI — The Russian armed forces will conduct test flights of a United Arab Emirates-made UAV early next year, Russian State News Agency RIA Novosti reported.

In a statement to the news agency by Ali al-Dhaheri, chief executive of ADCOM Systems and chief designer of the aircraft, the unmanned United 40 Block 5 long-range reconnaissance vehicle will be tested to assess whether it meets the military’s operational needs.

Dhaheri said the first drone would be delivered to Russia in February.

A preliminary agreement has been reached to sell more test vehicles to the armed forces, depending on the results of the first flights.

The medium-altitude drone can stay airborne for more than 100 hours and can also be equipped with Namrod air-to-surface guided missiles.

The United 40 Block 5 made its international debut flight at this year’s MAKS air show near Moscow.

Military expert Denis Fedutinov told RIA Novosti that ADCOM Systems had shown “great interest in the Russian market.”

“If this system satisfies the requirements of the Russian military, it can be expected that ... the original purchase will be followed by a contract for deployment,” Fedutinov said.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in June that aerial drones being developed in Russia for the military were inferior to similar foreign models.

Russia purchased 12 unmanned aircraft from Israel Aerospace Industries in 2009 in a $53 million deal that attracted criticism at the time.

The United 40 Block 5 is 11 meters long and has two sets of wings with a span of 17.53 meters, according to the manufacturer’s specifications.

It can fly to an altitude of 8,000 meters and has a cruising speed of 120 to 200 kilometers per hour.

The drone can carry a payload of up to 100 kilograms under each of its four wings.

Russia’s military began seeking advanced reconnaissance systems following the brief conflict with neighboring Georgia in August 2008, when the effectiveness of ground operations was severely hampered by a lack of reliable intelligence.

Various experts have estimated that Russia’s armed forces need up to 100 unmanned aircraft and at least 10 guidance and control systems to ensure effective reconnaissance for troops on the battlefield.
==========================================
From official website ..... what is under the fuselage ....???

it looks similar to Al-Tariq missile .... but smaller in size ......

YABHON United 40

 

[HRK]

UAE Backs out of Typhoon Discussions | Defense News | defensenews.com

LONDON AND DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has quit discussions with BAE Systems over the possible purchase of 60 Typhoon fighter jets, the company said.

BAE said in a statement Thursday that the Arabian Gulf state had informed the company it would not proceed with talks on a range of defense and security capabilities, including the Eurofighter Typhoon.

No reason for the scrapping of the talks has been given, but UAE sources said it was connected with easing of tensions in the Arabian Gulf region.

The British company has been leading talks for the Eurofighter consortium on a possible sale of the Typhoon to the UAE in competition with the Dassault Rafale and the Boeing F/A-18.

“BAE and the UK government have been in discussion with the UAE government regarding a range of defense and security capabilities including the potential supply of Typhoon aircraft. The UAE have advised that they have elected not to proceed with these proposals at this time,” the company said in a statement.

According to a UAE source close to the negotiations, the interim deal with Iran along with the direct diplomatic engagements the UAE has conducted have relaxed tensions between the gulf neighbors and contributed to the deal’s breakdown.

“At this point in time there is no need to acquire the weapons as our diplomatic efforts have succeeded,” the source said.

Furthermore, a defense agreement expected to be penned between the UK and the UAE has been put on hold regarding the UK assisting the UAE in marketing defense equipment to Europe, the source added.

The potential sale to UAE was a key export campaign in the Eurofighter consortium effort in the Middle East and elsewhere in an effort to keep production lines open beyond 2018.

Eurofighter partners include BAE, EADS and Finmeccanica.

The UAE originally preferred the Rafale but opened up the bidding to Typhoon and the F/A-18 after the two sides fell out over a range of issues.

In recent months, the Typhoon was reckoned to be ahead of its rivals in the bidding.

The Typhoon sales effort was part of a wider push by the British to boost defense relations with the UAE. The two sides have been negotiating a defense treaty, industrial collaboration and other investment opportunities.

The British Ministry of Defence declined to comment.

One of the potential industrial collaboration projects involving BAE and UAE industry involved development of a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond attended the Dubai Airshow last month for talks on the defense and industrial package.

BAE also said in the statement that it had failed to conclude negotiations with Saudi Arabia over pricing obligations on the sale of Typhoon jets. The talks have been in progress for around two years.

Saudi Arabia has purchased 72 Typhoons. Some 28 of those jets have already been delivered, with a further six scheduled to be handed over by the end of the year.

The British defense contractor said good progress has been made, but a definitive agreement has yet to be reached.

The company said Saudi Arabia remains a valued customer and agreements had concluded this month for the supply of guided missiles and Tornado maintenance and upgrade together worth £1.5 billion (US $2.4 billion).

 

[flamer84]

Hmmm...1.they are scrapping the program...2.Go with Rafale....3.More F16 blk 60 ?

 

[HRK]

Hmmm...1.they are scrapping the program...2.Go with Rafale....3.More F16 blk 60 ?

most probably F/A-18 ...... but not in near future .....

 

[Arabian Legend]

most probably F/A-18 ...... but not in near future .....

Not true, The UAE will go for the Rafale and more of the F-16. The SH will go to the KAF. Keep in mind that the GCC military is now under one command.

Thankx for the update though.

 

[HRK]

Not true, The UAE will go for the Rafale and more of the F-16. The SH will go to the KAF. Keep in mind that the GCC military is now under one command.

Thankx for the update though.

thnx but don't you think Rafale was dropped in favor of Euro fighter ..... One more thing under new command Euro Fighter and F-16 suits more then Rafel as it will synergize UAE and KSA aerial assets .... ??

 

[flamer84]

thnx but don't you think Rafale was dropped in favor of Euro fighter ..... One more thing under new command Euro Fighter and F-16 suits more then Rafel as it will synergize UAE and KSA aerial assets .... ??

I believe that UAE pilots will have an easier transition from the M2K to which they are accustomed to the Rafale.

 

[Bubblegum Crisis]

UAE : Good by Eurofighter Typhoon ! Welcome Dassault Rafale.

 

[HRK]

French-UAE Intel Satellite Deal in Doubt | Defense News | defensenews.com

DUBAI AND PARIS — A United Arab Emirates (UAE) deal to purchase two intelligence satellites from France worth almost 3.4 billion dirhams (US $930 million) is in jeopardy after the discovery of what was described as “security compromising components.”

A high-level UAE source said the two high-resolution Pleiades-type Falcon Eye military observation satellites contained two specific US-supplied components that provide a back door to the highly secure data transmitted to the ground station.

“The discovery was reported to the deputy supreme commander’s office [Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed] in September,” the source said. “We have requested the French to change these components and also consulted with the Russian and Chinese firms.”

The source would not elaborate on what role the Russians or Chinese could play in future negotiations.

According to the deal — signed July 22 by Sheikh Mohammed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the armed forces, and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian — delivery was set for 2018, along with a ground station.

The satellites are provided by prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space and payload-maker Thales Alenia Space. Neither company was available for comment.

Twenty engineers will be trained to use the new equipment.

According to the UAE source, the discovery prompted increased talks between the UAE and Russia and a number of high-level delegations have shuttled between Moscow and Abu Dhabi.

“If this issue is not resolved, the UAE is willing to scrap the whole deal,” he added.

The UAE has drawn on Russian technology, with the GLONASS space-based navigation system fitted as a redundancy feature on a Western European weapon system, a French defense expert said.

The competition for the deal has been ongoing for more than a decade, and UAE officials in late 2012 said they had narrowed the Falcon Eye competition from 11 bidders and their backing governments to proposals from US and French teams.

The UAE source said the French team won the bid due to the US State Department’s restrictions on the use of the system, often referred to as “shutter control.”

In Paris, one defense specialist found it intriguing that France had drawn on US technology for the satellites under the Falcon Eye program.

“That is surprising,” the specialist said.

France operates the Pleiades spy satellite in what is viewed as a critical piece of the nation’s sovereignty. Given that core competence, it seemed strange that France would use US technology, although there is an agreement between Paris and Washington over transfer of capabilities, analysts said.

Or, Abu Dhabi’s questioning of the satellite deal could be a way of putting pressure on Paris to get a better offer for the Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter.

“The satellites would be part of a big package deal,” the defense specialist in Paris said. “It’s not surprising. The UAE drives a hard bargain. They’re using it as a lever of power.”

A second defense specialist said it was possible French industry had drawn on the US.

“The payload is complex, not all the technology is French,” the second specialist said.

The French negotiations with the US on the technology for the UAE would have been sensitive. For example, when the US sold spy satellites to Saudi Arabia, Israel wanted to limit the resolution level in the payload, the second specialist said.

For the French satellites sold to the UAE, a very high optical resolution and encrypted code could be used to guide a cruise missile to a target in Iran, the second specialist said.

It is not clear whether the critical components can be replaced, the specialist said.

The way ahead may be to find a formula, a compromise which allows the UAE to say it was firm on technology demands, while accepting US gear on a French system — perhaps through the British, the specialist said.

Generally, Arabian Gulf countries split arms buys to reduce dependence on the US, the specialist said. The UAE flies the Lockheed Martin F-16 and Dassault Mirage 2000-9, while the Saudis operate the Boeing F-15, as well as the Tornado and Typhoon.

But the ultimate guarantor for security in the region is the US, the second specialist said.

Under wide French press coverage of the Falcon Eye deal, La Tribune noted the “colossal work” of the Direction Générale de l’Armament procurement office and help from the French Embassy.

The DGA and the embassy declined comment.

Airbus Defence and Space will build the Astrobus-based platform, while Thales Alenia Space will deliver the payload. The latter is a Franco-Italian joint venture majority-owned by the French partner.

Thales Alenia Space CEO Jean-Louis Galle said the company delivers the “operational intelligence capability,” daily Le Figaro reported in July.

François Auque, head of Space Systems for Airbus Defence and Space, said France has never agreed before the UAE deal to sell such high-resolution optics in a military satellite to a foreign country, Le Figaro reported.

The UAE has previously asked for a high level of technology access. In the 1990s, when Abu Dhabi bought the F-16 E/F Block 60, authorities asked for the source code as the UAE co-developed and co-owned the Desert Falcon fighter. The UAE invested a reported $3 billion in the total $7.3 billion acquisition.

 

[Bubblegum Crisis]

lol

I do not absolutely believe. And even if that were true. I do not see what would be technically infeasible on the French side to change these components by a French equivalent (If this is a cost impact slightly higher - A period extended -). Nothing to block the contract entirely in question.

France is the only Western country entirely technologically independent military point [Land, naval, air, space, missile (SLBMs) and nuclear weapon] compared to the USA.

Some really want to see contracts intelligence satellites for UAE and KSA failed. They dream… ^ ^


Note : USA have never sold veritable spy satellite any Arab country and even less to KSA (Just ridiculous).

Dazzling new weapons require new rules for war

By David Ignatius
Thursday, November 11, 2010

A new arsenal of drones and satellite-guided weapons is changing the nature of warfare. America and its NATO allies possess these high-tech weapons, but smaller countries want them, too. Here's an inside glimpse of how the process of technology transfer works:

A year ago, Saudi Arabia was fighting a nasty border war against the Houthi rebels across its frontier with Yemen. The Saudis began bombing Houthi targets inside Yemen on Nov. 5, 2009, but the airstrikes were inaccurate, and there were reports of civilian casualties.

The Saudis appealed to America for imagery from U.S. surveillance satellites in space, so they could target more precisely. Gen. David Petraeus, who was Centcom commander at the time, is said to have backed the Saudi request, but it was opposed by the State Department and others. They warned that intervening in this border conflict, even if only by providing targeting information, could violate the laws of war.

So the Saudis turned elsewhere for help - to France, which has its own reconnaissance satellites. The French, who were worried that imprecise Saudi bombing was creating too many civilian casualties in Yemen, agreed to help. The necessary details were arranged within days.

When French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Riyadh on Nov. 17, he was ready to open the new intelligence liaison channel. A Saudi official recalls that by the first night of Sarkozy's visit, detailed pictures of the Yemeni battle space began to move electronically to the Saudis.

Using this precise satellite intelligence, the Saudis were able to monitor the Houthis' hideouts, equipment dumps and training sites. Saudi warplanes then attacked with devastating effectiveness. Within a few weeks, the Houthis were requesting a truce, and by February this chapter of the border war was over.

For the Saudis, this was an important military success. "The French were extremely helpful" and their assistance "was a key reason we were able to force the Houthis to capitulate," says a Saudi official.

The Washington Post

 

[Bubblegum Crisis]

French-UAE Intel Satellite Deal in Doubt | Defense News | defensenews.com

...

This is not the intelligence satellite 'Pleiades' which was proposed and adopted by the UAE but the type 'Helios II'.

GCC Unified Military Command l Updates & Discussions. | Pakistan Defence


Type 'Pleiades' is negotiating to KSA who might prefer him 'Helios II' too - much more efficient -.

KSA with France sail towards the ocean and space | Pakistan Defence


...