United Arab Emirates
After generations of British Rule, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was formed as an independent country in 1971. The Emirates are made up of seven hereditary enclaves that together enjoy vast oil wealth. However, the UAE remains a terror finance concern, given some of its lax laws and the “hawalas” that operate on its soil. Unlike much of the Middle East and North Africa, the country did not face major protests in recent years related to the Arab Spring. Behind Saudi Arabia, the UAE is the highest military spender among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations.
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Population5,628,805
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GDP$358.9 Billion
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Fit for Service3,072,125
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Military EXHD6.4% of GDP
NATO Seeks Closer Ties with Gulf, Opens New Center
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday called for boosting security cooperation with the Gulf states as the Western military alliance opened its first office in the region. “It will be a vital hub for cooperation between the alliance and our Gulf partners,” Stoltenberg said at the inauguration of the center in Kuwait in the presence […]
UAE, British in Naval Exercise Amid Gulf Tensions with Iran
Naval forces of the United Arab Emirates and Britain have started an exercise amid Gulf Arab countries’ continued tensions with Iran. The UAE’s state-run WAM news agency said the “Sea Dagger 2017” exercise began Sunday. It offered no details about where the exercise would take place. The UAE sits near the mouth of the Persian […]
US on Track for Record Foreign Weapon Sales
In just three short months, the US State Department has blown past its dollar total of foreign weapon sales cases for all of last year — but a close look at the numbers shows that industry should temper its expectations for the rest of 2017. Through Dec. 23, the State Department has ok’d 21 foreign […]
Lockheed Awarded $1.4 Billion to Provide Patriot Missiles to the U.S. Military, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Others
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $1,452,561,722 fixed-price incentive, foreign military sales contract (Republic of Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates) for fiscal 2017 PATRIOT advanced capability production to include 205 missile segment enhancement U.S.. and Qatar missiles; 58 cost reduction initiative U.S. and Republic of Korea […]
Boeing Awarded $208 Million to Provide Harpoon Missiles to Egypt, Korea, Others
The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is being awarded a $207,534,768 not-to-exceed, firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of 51 full rate production Lot 90 Harpoon weapon systems, components, and spares for the governments of Egypt (20); Korea (19); and Brazil (12). In addition, this contract provides for components and spares for the Navy; and the […]
Raytheon Awarded $27 Million to Repair Patriot Missile Components for Israel, Saudi Arabia, Others
Raytheon, Andover, Massachusetts, was awarded a $27,456,865 modification (P00048) to foreign military sales contract W31P4Q-13-C-0111 (Israel, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Netherlands) for depot level diagnosis and repair capability for PATRIOT secondary items. Work will be performed in Andover, Massachusetts, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2019. Fiscal […]
CAPCO LLC and Armtec Countermeasures Co. Win $47 Million to Replenish Countermeasure Cartridges for US Allies
CAPCO LLC, Grand Junction, Colorado (FA8213-17-D-0001); and Armtec Countermeasures Co., Coachella, California (FA8213-17-D-0002), have been awarded a combined, not-to-exceed $47,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for replenishment of BBU-48 A/B impulse cartridges. Work will be performed at Grand Junction, Colorado; and Lillington, North Carolina, and is expected to be complete by June 15, 2023. This contract involves […]
State Department Approves $3.5 Billion Sale of AH-64E Apache Attack Helicopters to the UAE
The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the United Arab Emirates for Apache AH-64E Helicopters and services, as well as related equipment, training, and support. The estimated cost is $3.5 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on December […]
Raytheon Awarded $22 Million to Maintain Hawk Missile Stockpiles for Turkey, the UAE, and Spain
Raytheon Co., Andover, Massachusetts, was awarded a $ 22, 998,943 cost-plus-fixed-fee foreign military sales (Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Spain) contract for management, logistics and engineering support for the Hawk missile stockpile reliability program and the operations of worldwide theater readiness monitoring facility. Bids were solicited via the Internet with one received. Work locations and […]
US Weapons Exports End 2016 at $33.6 Billion
The US hit $33.6 billion for foreign weapon sales in fiscal year 2016, down $13 billion from the record-setting FY 2015 number. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced Tuesday that it cleared $2.9 billion of Foreign Military Financing-funded cases; $5.0 billion in Building Partner Capacity-funded cases; and $25.7 billion funded by partner nations. Among […]
The Saudi-led Coalition Is Not Ready to Fight the Islamic State
President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter visited Saudi Arabia last week hoping to reassure nervous Gulf allies that American security commitments remain in force in the wake of last year’s Iran nuclear deal. In exchange, the White House was hoping to encourage the Gulf states to play a more active role in the […]
The Mideast’s Precision Guided Arms Race
Precision guided munitions (PGMs) encompass a growing range of bombs and missiles designed to destroy targets on land, at sea, or in the air. While platforms like fighters, armored vehicles, and warships often receive more attention, their lethality is almost negligible if not bolstered by advanced munitions. With minor updates, today’s PGMs allow even older […]
The Camp David Summit: Major or Modest Moves in U.S.-Gulf Ties?
In the run up to Thursday’s summit at Camp David, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had predicted that “we are fleshing out a series of new commitments that will create… a new security understanding” to “take us beyond anything that we have had before.” Yet President Obama had outlined a much more limited objective, […]
IDEX 2015: Middle East Arms Market Remains Strong
With the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) and an increasingly aggressive Iran, Gulf Arab states are spending billions to improve their defenses and better protect their energy infrastructure. Nowhere has this been more evident than last month’s International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi. The region’s largest defense exhibition attracted officials from […]
French Deployments in the Middle East and North Africa
France is conducting multiple operations against Islamist militant groups throughout the Middle East and North Africa. This map displays the largest French deployments underway in the region. View the full map here. Sahel As part of Operation Barkhane, the French have 3,000 troops deployed across the Sahel region. Their mission is assist the countries of Mauritania, Mali, […]
The Coalition’s High Wire Act in Syria: Striking ISIS and Avoiding the Regime
When coalition pilots penetrated Syrian airspace early Tuesday morning, it was unclear if they would just strike Islamic State targets or clash with the Syrian regime. Though Syria was warned prior to the attack, it was unclear if Bashir al-Assad would follow through on his threat to consider any operation in Syria as an act of aggression. In fact, […]
An Edge in the Desert
Weapons are pouring into the Middle East at an unprecedented rate. The Pentagon recently announced that it would sell six tilt-rotor Osprey aircraft to Israel for $1.3 billion, American hardware (including Apache helicopters) is being rushed to the Iraqi government to help in its battle against al Qaeda, and Washington has also restored military aid to Egypt after a brief hiatus. But Uncle […]
Category Name
↓
QME
↓
↑
Active Armaments
On Order
↓
Air Defense Systems
724* (0)
↓
↓
Active Armaments
↓
-
20*
-
40*
-
100*
-
13*
-
400*
Aircraft 495* (225*)
-
29
-
29*
-
0 (67*)
-
0 (23)
-
7
-
25
-
17
-
61
-
73 (30)
-
0 (24)
-
1 (23)
-
1* (9*)
-
0 (8)
-
10
-
7
-
40*
-
2*
-
31
-
0 (2)
-
6 (2)
-
2
-
1
-
4
-
1
-
2
-
4
-
2
-
2
-
4
-
0 (10)
-
6
-
2
-
0 (4)
-
7
-
3
-
7
-
1
-
25
-
12
-
3
-
20
-
3
-
4
-
17 (5)
-
0 (6)
-
2
-
0 (3)
-
6
-
8
-
8 (9)
Artillery 407 (12)
-
85
-
20
-
30
-
56
-
78
Ground Vehicles 2,117 (7,600)
-
44 (3,316)
-
80
-
16
-
590
-
105
-
0 (100)
-
32
-
10
-
50 (794)
-
250
-
100
-
10
-
100 (2,200)
-
24
-
70
-
24
-
30
-
20
-
75
-
0 (1,150)
-
20
-
10
-
5 (40)
-
64
-
388
Guided Munitions 18,451* (16,066)
-
267*
-
715*
-
500*
-
120*
-
500*
-
90*
-
40*
-
90*
-
24*
-
12*
-
1,000* (260)
-
50*
-
230*
-
0 (300)
-
600*
-
100* (100)
-
600*
-
0 (216)
-
0 (5,000)
-
100*
-
600* (1,000)
-
304*
-
1,500* (3,240)
-
1,100* (750)
-
3,000*
-
250*
-
1,000*
-
700*
-
500* (4,000)
-
0 (1,200)
-
500*
-
3,500*
-
300*
-
159*
Personnel 51,000 (0)
Ships 90 (14)
-
6
-
34
-
0 (8)
-
24