The delivery comes just five months after the country received its penultimate GlobalEye aircraft at the Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi.

According to Saab business area head for surveillance Carl-Johan Bergholm, completing the delivery in under 10 years underscores the company’s position as a “leading provider” of AEW&C platforms.

Deliveries of the GlobalEye to the UAE began in 2020 after five years of production and flight testing.

‘Multi-Domain Platform’

Saab is pitching its GlobalEye as an “advanced, multi-domain solution” capable of long-range threat detection and identification.

It features active and passive sensors that provide real-time information to units on the ground, at sea, or in the air.

The aircraft can operate for up to 11 hours at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters) while detecting threats as low as 200 feet (61 meters).

Its primary goal is to enhance the situational awareness of military units in high-threat environments.

Currently, the UAE Air Force is the only confirmed operator of the AEW&C aircraft.

Sweden has placed an order for three aircraft, with deliveries expected between 2024 and 2029.

The post Saab Concludes GlobalEye Early Warning Aircraft Deliveries to UAE appeared first on The Defense Post.

Reports about the potential sale surfaced after senior UAE military officials visited Beijing and discussed closer cooperation with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

Abu Dhabi is hoping that its efforts to strengthen ties with the Asian military superpower will boost its chances of procuring the fifth-generation aircraft, according to a report by National Interest.

China has long restricted the export of its J-20 jets to maintain technological secrecy and prevent adversaries from closely studying them.

This restriction prevents the UAE’s alleged bid to procure the J-20s unless Beijing reverses its policy.

J-20 Over F-35?

The UAE’s move to explore other options would be reasonable, as the US is still reluctant to sell F-35s to the Middle Eastern nation.

In 2021, Washington approved the sale of 50 F-35s and 18 MQ-4B drones to Abu Dhabi in a potential contract worth $19 billion.

However, the deal has not materialized because of US concerns over growing UAE-China ties, especially in 5G technology.

America argued that Huawei-supplied 5G technology used at communication stations, air bases, and other national security facilities might allow Beijing to closely study the operational capabilities of the Lightning II.

Additionally, the deal has been hampered by Israel’s request to the US to reject F-35 sales to the UAE, fearing it could challenge Jerusalem’s military superiority in the region.

Comparison

America’s F-35 and China’s J-20 are often compared because they both have fifth-generation stealth technology.

The Lockheed Martin-manufactured jet is said to have an advantage over its Chinese counterpart in terms of avionics and its sensor suite.

It also boasts a vertical takeoff and landing capability, which eliminates the need for long runways.

However, the “Mighty Dragon” is said to be superior in range, weapons capacity, and speed as it can reach Mach 2.0 compared to Mach 1.6 for the American warplane.

“The J-20 can carry more ammunition than an F-35 on a single mission. In terms of weight, it can load up 27,998 pounds (12,700 kilograms) of weapons, compared to 18,000 pounds (8,164 kilograms) for an F-35,” defense analyst Kris Osborn explained.

The post UAE Exploring Potential Chinese J-20 Stealth Fighter Purchase: Report appeared first on The Defense Post.

Images were uploaded on social media showing the glider-like drone preparing for an early morning mission within the US Central Command area of responsibility.

Though the exact location was not disclosed, sharp eyes online revealed that the photos were taken from the Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, based on the name of the hangar in the background.

Interestingly, the base serves as the home for the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing and previously housed the US Air Force’s RQ-4 Global Hawk drones.

The 'undisclosed location' is Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE. The ULTRA drone can be seen in one of the photos occupying hangar 5 which was used to house global hawks in the past. https://t.co/MrAs3qvnO2 pic.twitter.com/BOgORmaXUc

— IntelWalrus (@IntelWalrus) May 8, 2024

The service did not say what particular mission the unmanned system would conduct, but it is believed to be connected to intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).

The photos of the ULTRA long-endurance drone in the Middle East have now been removed from the DVIDS websites following the identification of its exact location.

80-Hour Endurance

The ULTRA was developed in 2019 by the Air Force Research Laboratory in collaboration with Dzyne Technologies Incorporated.

Its design is based on a manned sports glider that was modified to support long-duration surveillance operations.

More specifically, the drone has long wings and winglets, a T-tail, and a retractable undercarriage.

It also has an electro-optical/infrared sensor turret fitted below the fuselage, providing 360-degree ISR capabilities.

At maximum, the ULTRA can stay in the air for 80 hours.

The post US Air Force Deploys ULTRA Glider-Like Drone in Middle East appeared first on The Defense Post.

The new platform was transferred to the UAE Air Force at the Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi.

The order marks the penultimate delivery in an agreement signed in 2015 for the first three GlobalEye systems, followed by an additional order for two more in 2021.

“The high delivery pace in the GlobalEye programme is testament to our unique in-house capability which means we control the entire process, from development to integration,” Saab President and CEO Micael Johansson said.

The handover date for the final unit is yet to be announced.

Supporting UAE’s AEW&C Posture

Saab has also won the three-year, $190-million service support contract for Abu Dhabi’s GlobalEye planes.

Announced in January, the contract details the Swedish company’s maintenance, logistics, and training support for the program.

Saab Surveillance business head Carl-Johan Bergholm said the deal underlines the company’s role in keeping GlobalEyes’ mission-ready status.

The UAE is currently the sole operator of the aircraft. However, Sweden, Canada, and France have shown interest in the platform.

The post Saab Delivers Fourth GlobalEye AEW&C Aircraft to UAE appeared first on The Defense Post.

The brutal conflict broke out in mid-April between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), killing more than 12,000 people and displacing millions.

In November, General Yasser al-Atta, second-in-command to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, openly denounced the United Arab Emirates, calling it a “state mafia” that had “taken the path of evil” by supporting the RSF and its leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Atta accused Abu Dhabi of funnelling weapons through Chad, Uganda, and the Central African Republic to the RSF with the help of the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenaries who once enjoyed a foothold in Bangui.

“With the weakening of Wagner, their planes have also passed through Chad, landing for a week at N’Djamena airport,” Atta added, also accusing eastern Libya strongman Khalifa Haftar of being a conduit for paramilitary supplies.

UAE officials did not respond to AFP‘s request for comment.

Experts have warned of the existence of such a supply line since the start of the war, but until November Sudan’s army had not made the accusation publicly.

“Until recently, the Burhan camp exercised caution and diplomacy, avoiding direct verbal confrontations against key players such as Libya’s Haftar, Russia and Abu Dhabi,” Jalel Harchaoui, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told AFP.

But the army has thrown caution to the wind by making its accusations public and having the foreign ministry expel 15 UAE diplomats.

‘Plausible Deniability’

In August, the Wall Street Journal said aid shipments sent via Uganda and intended for Sudanese refugees in Chad had been found to contain weapons destined for the RSF.

The UAE promptly denied the report. It said Abu Dhabi “does not take sides in the current conflict.”

Alex de Waal, an expert on Sudan, said that UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed was a supporter of RSF chief Daglo.

De Waal said the pair forged a relationship in 2015 when Daglo provided paramilitaries for the Saudi-Emirati ground intervention in Yemen’s civil war.

Daglo — who controls much of Sudan’s lucrative gold mining sector — “also has a mutually profitable business trading gold to the UAE,” de Waal said.

Though the UAE is formally the world’s top buyer of Sudanese gold, observers say many of the support lines are underground.

Andreas Krieg, a security studies professor at King’s College London, said “the story of the UAE in Sudan is (one) of networks curated by Abu Dhabi to achieve strategic objectives with plausible deniability and discretion.”

Harchaoui, of RUSI, said the deniability had ensured any condemnation of Emirati interference was only “tepid.”

‘Act of Desperation’

Nevertheless, with rumours having swirled for months, tensions came to a head in November when hundreds of pro-army demonstrators took to the streets in the eastern city of Port Sudan demanding the expulsion of the Emirati ambassador.

Shortly after, Sudan’s acting foreign minister Ali al-Sadiq said Abu Dhabi had expelled Sudanese diplomats from the UAE.

“We have not asked for justifications from the UAE, even though we had information of their involvement in the war,” he told state television in early December.

“But they were the ones who expelled our diplomats, and so we had to respond.”

Last week, the foreign ministry declared 15 UAE diplomats persona non grata, demanding they leave Sudan “within 48 hours.”

The move came “because we are at an impasse with the UAE,” Sadiq said.

However, according to Harchaoui, the move can be better understood as “an act of desperation” for a force whose “options are dwindling.”

While neither side has been able to seize a decisive military advantage, the RSF now controls the streets of the capital Khartoum, the vast western region of Darfur, and is increasingly encroaching on the south.

“By taking a bold stand, (Burhan) might be hoping to draw more attention and condemnation towards the UAE’s illicit injections of weaponry in support of (Daglo),” Harchaoui said.

The post Tensions Rise Between Sudan Army and United Arab Emirates appeared first on The Defense Post.

The 1.2-billion UAE dirham ($327 million) deal was signed at the Dubai Airshow 2023 on Wednesday, following the unveiling of the MANSUP-Extended Range by Edge Group.

The Brazilian Navy procured the missiles for 600 million UAE dirhams ($163.36 million) on Tuesday.

National Surface Anti-Ship Missile

A quartet of Brazilian firms — Avibras, Mectron, Atech, and Omnisys — developed the missile to replace the Brazilian Navy’s Exocet MM40 Block 1.

In September, Edge Group joined the project with the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in SIATT, formerly Mectron.

The Brazilian Navy has conducted five test launches of the missile.

MANSUP Extended-Range

The extended-range missile can strike targets 200 kilometers (120 miles) away, more than twice the initial variant at 70 kilometers (43 miles).

It features adaptive sea-skimming capabilities, inertial guidance, and active radar homing.

The missile’s land and air-launched versions will also be developed, EDGE said, adding that the firm is in advanced talks with potential customers.

“The success of the MANSUP program is now being demonstrated by the commitments being placed by customers, now including the UAE and Brazilian Armed Forces,” EDGE Group CEO Mansour AlMulla said.

The post UAE Orders Brazilian Anti-Ship Missiles appeared first on The Defense Post.