UAE purchases 8 drones in deals worth Dhs 1.47bn

The UAE signed three deals worth more than Dhs 1.47bn at the UMEX exhibition yesterday, including a contract for eight drones.

Brigadier General Rashid Mohammed Al-Shamsi said the country had signed a Dhs 1.32bn contract with Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments Company for 31HH craft equipped with night cameras, radars and telecommunications devices.

The deal includes training, spare parts and maintenance.

It also signed a Dhs 143.3m deal for the training of helicopter pilots with Baker Australian College and another with Aeryon Labs Inc to buy SkyRanger small Unmanned Aerial Systems.

Al Shamsi said, “We deal with the UAE companies on the basis of competition with other International companies. The decision is taken by benchmarking and comparison. We sort and select the best product.”

He said he hoped for a bigger turnout at the next event in 2018. Deals at this year’s event touched Dhs 2.237bn.

Unmanned aerial vehicles are seeing increasing use from militaries around the world.

Consulting firm Teal Group said that the UAE and Saudi Arabia could be the main buyers of the craft in the coming years.

Saudi Arabia is believed to have allocated SAR 213.4bn for military and security spending in light of regional conflicts, including Syria and Yemen, and rival Iran’s return to the world stage.

Image courtesy of Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments Company.