Unmanned aerial vehicles take wings at Abu Dhabi military event

Abu Dhabi - The drone weighs 700 kg and optically it can be manned.

The Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference (Umex) and Simulation Exhibition and Conference (SimTex), opened at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) on Sunday and will run until February 27.
One of the latest drones exhibited at the event includes a new target drone, Mirach-40 (M-40), suitable for a range of training missions including ground-based air defence (GBAD) artillery training and simulation of aerial targets.
The M-40 drone has the ability to mimic a range of enemy aerial threat and by doing so, allows crews to train with weapon systems such as surface-to-air radar-guided missile systems.
"The way the system works is by appearing on sensors, identical to a threat aircraft or guided missile," said Alessandro Voli, MEA regional head of Leonardo Airborne and Space Systems.
"Weapon and radar operators can track the M-40 and fire upon the drone, realistically training for the day when successfully engaging a real threat will save lives."
Naval Group brought their new air-raid drone VSR-700, a product developed in partnership with Airbus. The VSR-700 can exceed 10 flight hours of operational autonomy and its payload capacity is up to 150kg. The drone weighs 700 kg and optically it can be manned.
Among other military and security weapons at Umex are the multi-mission robots, vehicles and micro unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) from Nextor Robotics. It addresses three main segments of robotic systems - small multi-missions tactical robots, heavy robotic vehicles for reconnaissance, road opening automatic logistics transportation and the micro-UAVs. Umex, one of the world's largest military and armed forces event, has a participation of 122 companies from 34 nations. ismail@khaleejtimes.com
Military deals worth Dh291m at Capital event
The UAE Armed Forces signed deals worth more than Dh291 million with various international and local companies during the first day of the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference (Umex) to help strengthen the country's unmanned and aerospace defence sector.
The announcement was made at a Press conference by Major Pilot Saeed Mohamed Al Yammahi, official spokesperson of the Umex and Simulation Exhibition and Conference (SimTex) 2018.
The deals included the supply of unmanned planes, simulations and for pilot training from the UAE Armed Forces.
Companies that won the deals, including five from the UAE, three American and others from South Africa and Switzerland included; UADASI (Dh72 million), Insitu (Dh44 million), Cubic Defense Applications (Dh47 million), and Advanced Media (Dh78,061).

• Abu Dhabi