UAE spends billions on indigenous weapons at defense show

By the end of the five-day fair on Friday, the Gulf state had signed more than 50 deals worth $6.3 billion, the official WAM news agency said.

These include at least $5.9 billion in deals with local companies at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) and the Naval Defense and Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX).

It highlights the UAE’s strong support for domestic companies, including EDGE, a consortium formed in 2019. The oil-rich monarchy is also focusing on local companies as it spends $5.7 billion at the last arms show in the biennial in 2021.

The UAE has reduced arms imports by more than 40 percent over the past decade, making it the world’s third-largest importer to ninth-largest, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The UAE was the second-largest recipient of U.S. arms between 2012 and 2016, but fell to eighth between 2017 and 2021, SIPRI said.

During that time, Sandhurst-trained Air Force pilot Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who has been in power since 2014, has been dubbed “Little Sparta” by U.S. allies in Yemen. Combat, training troops in Somalia, and supporting troops in Egypt and Libya.

“Strengthening self-sufficiency”

Jean-Loup Samaan, a senior fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute, said the latest deal marked the UAE’s “increasing emphasis on local projects rather than foreign ones”.

“The UAE sees its defense industry as a tool to strengthen self-sufficiency,” Saman said, explaining that it wanted to “reduce dependence on Western security partners” and diversify its economy away from oil.

According to SIPRI, the UAE is now the 18th largest arms exporter in the world and the third largest supplier to the Middle East after Israel and Turkey.

In 2019, EDGE became the first Arab company to enter SIPRI’s list of the top 25 arms production and military services companies.

However, the UAE still relies on outside companies for most of its military hardware. In December 2021, it bought 80 Rafale fighter jets from France for around 17 billion euros ($18 billion).

Georges Berghezan of the Brussels-based GRIP research center said the fledgling UAE arms industry also relied on overseas component suppliers as well as foreign personnel.

“While the UAE is already a major arms exporter in the Arab world, it is unrealistic to imagine that they can compete with major arms exporters, at least in the foreseeable future,” Bergzan told AFP.

EDGE also signed agreements with foreign partners this week, including a contract with Angola worth more than US$1 billion to build a fleet of 71-meter frigates.

The consortium has also signed a cooperative licensing agreement to develop small arms for the Indian market.

EDGE “represents Abu Dhabi’s aim to create a protagonist in the development of local military capabilities,” Saman said.

“Its goal is to become a regional player in the arms market.”