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IDEX News: UAE ‘leading’ in Gulf’s naval training capabilities
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Abu Dhabi – As the United Arab Emirates continues to invest in the modernization of its armed forces, it is also looking to update its training platforms, and other countries in the Gulf region may follow suit, a supplier said.
Canada-based CAE was awarded a contract from the United Arab Emirates in 2016 to lead the design and development of its naval doctrine and combat training centre. Nabil Azar, CAE Maritime Middle East’s regional director of strategy and business development, said the facility includes training simulators for a range of maritime missions – from bridge trainers that simulate maritime environments to individual weapon training.
On February 21, during the Abu Dhabi International Defense Exhibition, Azar said that with the development and modernization of the UAE Navy, a new training center is needed.
“They need to keep up with the technology so that they can actually train their cadets and naval commanders on their platform,” he said. “They have a variety of different classes of ships, and the center provides an integrated capability to be able to train — not just on one ship versus another, but in an integrated way.”
How the UAE uses the training facilities could prompt other countries in the Gulf to modernize their military training, Azar said.
“The UAE is currently leading the way in terms of naval training capabilities,” Azar said. He added that CAE has been in discussions with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and other Middle Eastern countries outside the Gulf to help them understand what the United Arab Emirates is trying to achieve with its naval doctrine and combat training centre.
Jim Chittenden, vice president of global strategic growth at CAE Middle East, said that while the United Arab Emirates is CAE’s first customer in the Gulf region, having more contracts in the region could benefit countries within the GCC as they expand into the Gulf in the future. Perform integrated military missions.
“We are providing the venue and capacity so that these countries can train together because they already have a requirement to operate together,” he told the meeting.
A supporting element of its training and simulation platform will be a modular, open architecture that enables connectivity between systems, while also allowing each country to tailor a training center to its own needs and platforms, Chittenden said.
He added that the Open Architecture Training Center is also critical for countries that are rapidly modernizing their defense industry, as it allows them to plug new platforms into existing training architectures.
“It’s really important in the Bay Area,” Chittenden said.
theme: International
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