DUBAI - The UAE said on Tuesday it has signed deals worth a combined 2.7 billion dirhams ($734.3 million) for early warning and training aircraft as the country continues to ramp up its military capabilities.The military has signed an 814.4 million dirham agreement with Sweden’s Saab for two SAAB340 early warning aircraft and a 1.89 billion dirham deal with Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland for 25 PC-21 basic training aircraft, a senior official said at the Dubai Airshow.
The UAE is the third-biggest arms importer worldwide behind China and India, with the Gulf state accounting for 6 percent of the world's arms imports between 2004 and 2008, according to leading defence think tank the SIPRI.
Middle East countries have significantly ramped up defence spending in recent years amid continued regional geopolitical tensions, with Frost & Sullivan forecasting spending will surpass $100 billion by 2014, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Maj. Gen. Faris al-Mazrouei, UAE Armed Forces chief of logistics, said the 814.4 million dirham Saab deal includes value of the aircraft, associated systems, training and providing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services.
The first aircraft will be delivered third quarter of 2010, with the second delivered in first quarter of 2011, Mazrouei said.
He described the Saab deal as an interim arrangement until a permanent solution can be found.
“It is a solution that achieves the current air force operational requirement,” he said.
The UAE is expected to purchase a permanent command and early warning aircraft system in the future for which Saab, Boeing and Northrop Grumman are in the running, Mazrouei said.
The Swedish firm’s more advanced SAAB2000 system, Boeing’s AEW/C (airborne early warning and command), and Northrop Grumman’s E2-D Advanced Hawkeye are among the solutions being considered, he said.
On the Pilatus deal, Mazrouei said it will include training aircraft along with an integrated ground-based training system for basic and combat operational training.
The first will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2011 and deliveries will continue through the first quarter of 2012, he said.
In a first for the UAE military, the Saab deal is being financed by National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), while Waha Capital is providing funding for the Pilatus deal.