M346, Dash-8 Q300, fast troop transport vessels, corvette, C-130J and more...

08:28 GMT, March 2, 2009 The organizers have expressed their satisfaction with the results of the ninth and most successful International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2009). As the gate closed at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre on Thursday, more than 50,000 visitors had visited the halls where some 900 exhibitors from 50 countries displayed their products. Among them included representatives and delegations of 150 nations. But much more important than the very impressive number of visitors and exhibitors of the biennial event is the fact that it was also one of the most successful exhibitions in terms of signed contracts. Contracts worth over $5 million (€4 billion / Dh18.4 billion) have been signed between companies and the UAE government while other nations also signed billions of dollars worth of contracts during the show.


Disclosures of significant orders signed during the show include the following:

Provincial Aerospace Ltd. headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada has been awarded a contract valued at $291 million (€230 million / Dh1.071 billion) to convert two Bombardier Dash-8 Q300 commercial aircraft into Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Provincial Aerospace, as the prime contractor, leads a team that includes French-based Thales, Italy-based Elettronica, German-based Rohde & Schwarz, UK-based Honeywell, South Africa-based Saab Systems and U.S.-based FLIR Systems Inc. The entire programme is expected to be highly sophisticated since the conversion will cost some €115 million per aircraft, which is considered to be high when compared to, for example, the Boeing built P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft which the Indian Navy has bought for €142 million per aircraft.

Italian-built Aermacchi M346 (Finmeccanica / Alenia Aeronautica) advanced lead-in fighter trainer aircraft has been selected over the T-50 Golden Eagle supersonic fast jet trainer built by Lockheed Martin and Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI). The exact contractual negotiations are now to begin but the order may include 48 aircraft, counting a not-yet detailed number of light attack variants and is expected to be worth about $1.3 billion (€1 billion). The aircraft are expected to be locally built and deployed beginning in 2012 to replace the Hawk’s built by BAE System.

While Francesco Guarguaglini, Chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica and Alenia Aeronautica’s CEO, Giovanni Bertolone, says that the UAE selection for the Aermacchi marks a huge success for “one of the Italian aeronautical technology’s flagship designs” and the decision came as a surprise for most defence experts as well as for Lockheed. The UAE requirement of also receiving light attack variants of the trainer aircraft pushed the T-50 into a better position since the TA-50 armed "fighter lead-in" aircraft is already flying and the TA-50 light strike-capable aircraft is under development. However, the decision in favor of the Italian solution could have arisen from Lockheed’s politics not allowing KAI to install the most up-to-date equipment in its aircraft which otherwise could become a competitor to its own F-16.


Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) received a contract to build twelve new Ghannatha class for the UAE Navy and to retrofit twelve existing boats of this class. The total contract is valued at Dh 935.4 million - Dh 771.1 million for the new vessels and Dh 164.3 million for the retrofit.

The first three new Fast Fighting Vessels will be built in Sweden by Swedeship Marine, while the other nine are to be built in Abu Dhabi. The vessels will be 26.5m long, constructed of aluminum and propelled by twin MTU Marine Diesel engines coupled to Rolls Royce FF water jets which will give a maximum speed in excess of 40 knots and the ability to operate in extremely shallow waters. According to the contract, the first vessel will be delivered within 18 months with a new vessel delivered every three months.

Both the new boats and the retrofit boats will now be converted into armed fighting vessels in three different versions: One will be fitted with the MBDA Marte Mk2/N Missile system, another with the Patria Nemo 120mm mortar system, and the third version will be fitted with Rheinmetall 27mm guns. Weapons systems integration for all three configurations of the vessel will be undertaken by Abu Dhabi Systems Integration (ADSI), a UAE joint venture company formed in 2006 by ADSB and Selex Sistemi Integrati of Italy.

Accompanying contracts have been signed regarding the armament of these vessels.

(1) With the order for the Mk 2/N Anti-Ship Missile system as the main armament for most of the 24 vessels, MBDA has secured its first customer for the ship-to-ship version of the Marte missile. The Italian Navy currently uses the helicopter-launched version of this weapon, the so called Mk 2/S.
Marte is a lightweight, fire and forget, multi-platform-launched subsonic, sea-skimming anti-ship missile. It features a 70 kg semi-piercing warhead with high explosive effects detonated by impact or proximity and has a range in excess of 30km.

(2) Finish Patria has been selected to supply the Nemo mortar system for the second version of the 24 boats. It has been said, but not yet confirmed, that six of the boats will be fitted with these mortar systems. Nemo is a 120 mm remote controlled mortar turret providing both direct and indirect fire support. Due to its low weight of only 1500 kg, Patria Nemo is adaptable to lightweight, high-speed vessels such as the Ghannatha class vessel.

(3) Rheinmetall has won a repeat order for an additional 18 27 mm MLG27 light naval guns worth $52 million (€41 million). Rheinmetall's remotely controlled MLG27 is an autonomous weapon with daylight and night-time camera systems as well as a laser range finder and an integrated fire control unit. The canon can fire up to 1,700 rounds per minute.

Italian Fincantieri, Cantieri Navali Italiani SpA has won a $117 million contract to build a 1+1 anti-submarine corvette for the UAE Navy. The corvette will be designed on the basis of the Cigala Fulgosi class small frigates that have been in service with the Italian Navy since 2004. However, major modifications will be performed. Further, the UAE Navy has asked Fincantieri to deliver the corvette within 20 months, meaning the assigned shipyard will have to build the UAE order at the same time it is building two corvettes for the Turkish Coast Guard, but in a different configuration. According to Fincantieri officials, the UAE Navy also requested construction of a telescope helicopter hanger for this corvette.

Further contracts:

- Euro-Art International EWIV will supply three Counter Battery Radars (COBRA) allowing to protect the UAE Armed Forces on the move due to the weapon location radar is build on MAN SX-series trucks. COBRA is the first multifunctional counter battery radar in the world with a fully active phased array antenna, enabling accurate multiple targets detection within a short reaction time. During all live fire trials to which COBRA participated, including desert trials in UAE during summer 2005, in competition with other weapon locating radars, COBRA achieved performance (location range as well as detection and location accuracy) were far better than the COBRA Specifications. The contract is worth some $243 million.

- Lockheed Martin has been selected to provide 12 C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft (see: http://www.defpro.com/news/details/5787/). UAE government announced that additionally to the C-130J, four Boeing C-17 transport aircraft will be acquired. The total contract value will reach some $3 billion ($1.6 billion for the C-130J and $1.4billion for the C-17 aircraft).

- The International Golden Group (IGG) was awarded a contract worth $215million to supply lightweight Remote Controlled Weapon Stations (RCWSs) to the UAE Armed Forces. The technology will come from a German company which is not named yet. While the first production of the RCWS will be build in Germany all others are expected to enter production in Abu Dhabi by tend of this year. The RCWS will be installed on a variety of armoured fighting vehicles.

- Turkey's Roketsan firm reached a rocket launcher system manufacturing deal with Al Jaber firm. The project is worth $90 million. A part of the rocket launcher system will be produced in Turkey and a part of it will be manufactured in the UAE. The system will be integrated and assembled in the UAE.
Turkey's Yonca-Onuk partnership signed another deal with Critical National Infrastructure Authority (CNIA) for 34 rapid-intervention boats. The project is estimated to be worth $120 million.

- Vectronix of Switzerland has received a contract worth some $9 million for a not yet specified number of artillery observation systems.

- FATS/Caswell will deliver small arms training simulators worth $5 million
- General Dynamics Canada received a contract worth $3.2 million for modification and upgrades on UAE Army’s RG31 mine protected vehicles.

- Harris has won an AED 192.2 million order for unspecified communications sets.

- Thales has received an AED 172.8 million award for a SOTAS communications system to be installed in the UAE Army LECLERC MBTs.

– Rheinmetall Defence Electronics was awarded to build and support a Combat Training Centre for the UAE Armed Forces based on the German GÜZ (Gefechtsübungszentrum). The contract is estimated to be worth $125 million.

For more IDEX contract news see:
http://www.defpro.com/confairs/profile/idex_20092/pressroom/