ABU DHABI - A total of DHS5.2 billion of defence contracts was sealed by the UAE with 17 international and national contractors, with the US Wisconsin-based defence contractor Oshkosh Corporation winning the biggest deal of Dhs1.4 billion to provide the UAE Armed Forces with 750 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected All-Terrain Vehicles (M-ATV), according to Major General Obaid Al Ketbi, Chairman of the organising committee for the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2013).
The UAE also signed a Dhs 722 million contract with the UAE’s International Golden Group (IGG) to purchase Predator-EPs and integrated technical support, Al-Ketbi said in a press conference at the venue of IDEX 2013.
Another contract worth 472.7 million was signed by the Armed forces with Russia’s KBP to buy different types of ammunition.
The third largest deal worth Dhs 720 million was won by Tawazun Holding, the UAE’s strategic investment holding company focused on defense and specialized manufacturing, to supply CIRIT laser guided missiles. CIRIT, manufactured by Rokestan, is the first Turkish-made laser-guided missile.
The other deals announced today include a contract worth Dhs 215 million with global consulting firm Booz & Company which will provide consultation and support, a contract worth Dhs 350 million with UAE’s IGG, Germany’s SAP and USA’s IBM to provide IT support for the Forces’ supply system.
Italy’s Fincantieri won a deal worth DHS140 million to provide technical support to Abu Dhabi’s anti-marine ship.
The Armed Forces also sealed a deal worth Dhs 375.4 million with ADSB to install Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) systems on its vessels, Al-Ketbi added.
The other deals, according to Al-Ketbi, include a contract worth Dhs 345 million with the UAE’s Knowledge to provide strategic consultation for the Land Forces, a Dhs 56 million deal with South Korea’s Hanwha Corporation to provide the Armed Forces with ammunition and explosives, a DHS30 million deal with the UAE’s Naval Advanced Solutions to provide technical support for the Armed Forces’ vessels, a Dhs 11.7 million contract with the UAE’s Al Jisr Company to provide the Armed Forces with chemical equipment, a Dhs 46.3 million deal with France’s CEFA to provide spare parts, a Dhs 27.2 million contract with the UAE’s Telecommunications to provide telecom equipment and spare parts and a Dhs 157 million with the UAE’s Advanced Military Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Centre (AMMROC) to provide upgraded avionics for the UAE’s C130 Hercules transport aircraft.