Local Suppliers Outnumber International Two to One
The Tawazun Council announced the signature, on behalf of the UAE MoD, of deals with an aggregate value of AED8.14 billion (US$2.22 billion) on the second day of IDEX and NAVDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi. (Note: conversion at the 21 February rate of US$1/AED3.67)
Eight contracts, totalling AED7.6 billion, were signed with local companies and four, totalling AED543 million billion, with international firms.
Local companies
- Halcon (an Edge Group company) – AED4.7 billion for the Desert Sting P5 smart micro-munition, plus an additional AED1.1 billion for Hunter drones;
- ADASI (an Edge Group company) – AED 1.33 billion for Shadow loitering munitions;
- Trust International Group – AED179 million for Minimi machineguns and AED20 million for 7.62mm machineguns;
- ADSB (an Edge Group company) – AED175 million for rescue boats;
- International Golden Group – AED40 million for telecommunication systems;
- Marakeb – AED20 million to develop the Golden Unit multi-mission unmanned surface vessel.
International companies
- Thales Six (France) – AED316 million to develop and support ground station radio and AED159 million for CMS procurement;
- Rheinmetall (Germany) – AED57 million for technical support for engagement simulation;
- L3Harris (USA) – AED 11 million for telecommunications and intercom systems.
