A visitor to the Abu Dhabi arms fair on February 20, 2023 (AFP/Ryan LIM)
Russia displayed its presence Monday at the arms fair in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, displaying combat-tested weapons intended for export, four days before the anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
In a relatively isolated pavilion of the International Defense Exhibition (Idex) in the Emirati capital, Moscow exhibits armored vehicles, combat helicopters and anti-aircraft missile systems.
In total, more than 200 life-size models are on display in Abu Dhabi, according to Rosoboronexport, a Russian public company responsible for arms sales.
Close partners of the United States, particularly on the military level, the Emirates, a rich oil country in the Gulf, maintain excellent relations with Russia, hit by American and European sanctions because of the offensive against Ukraine launched on February 24, 2022.
Visiting the Idex, one of the most important military fairs in the region, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov hailed relations with the United Arab Emirates, “first among Arab countries in terms of trade” with Moscow.
Visitors at the Abu Dhabi Arms Fair on February 20, 2023 (AFP/Ryan LIM)
“In 2022, trade between Russia and the Emirates increased by 68% and reached nine billion dollars,” he said, according to Russia’s official TASS news agency.
Russia is the world’s second largest arms exporter after the United States, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
For his part, the director of Rosoboronexport, Alexander Mikheev, described the countries of the Middle East as “important partners”. Rosoboronexport is preparing to offer reconnaissance and strike drones to foreign partners, he added, as quoted by TASS.
This new edition of the Idex was also an opportunity to unveil the first unmanned vessel produced jointly by manufacturers from the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
The two countries have multiplied agreements and areas of cooperation since the official normalization of their relations in 2020.
– Iranian threats –
At Navdex, the exhibition devoted to naval industries alongside the Idex, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the Emirati consortium EDGE presented an unmanned surface vessel (USV).
Operators in the Israel Aerospace Industries control room demonstrate operating an unmanned vessel during the NAVDEX arms show in Abu Dhabi on February 20, 2023 (AFP/Ryan LIM)
Equipped with advanced sensors, sonar and remotely operated control systems, the vessel could be deployed for surveillance, reconnaissance as well as mine and submarine detection, according to IAI.
“For the first time, we are demonstrating a joint project that shows the capabilities and strengths of both companies in coastal security and mine countermeasures,” Oren Guter, who heads the company, told AFP. IAI’s naval program.
According to this former captain of the Israeli navy, the unmanned ships aim to counter “threats here in the region” and abroad.
As part of a partnership forged last year, IAI and EDGE are also working on the development of an anti-drone system.
In a sign of the growing ties between the two countries, the Israeli arms giant Elbit Systems has opened a division in the United Arab Emirates, which in January 2022 landed a contract worth around $53 million with the air force. emirates.
“Security is a natural area of cooperation between Israel and the Emirates”, especially in the face of Iranian threats, underlined Torbjorn Soltvedt, of the Verisk Maplecroft risk intelligence company.
On Sunday, Israel accused Iran of being behind the attack on an oil tanker linked to an Israeli businessman, hit, according to the company that operates it, by an “airborne object” in the Arabian Sea. .
The United States and several Gulf countries regularly denounce Tehran’s actions in this strategic maritime zone, an almost exclusive navigation route to link the Gulf oil countries to world markets.
“Combating the growing threat to shipping in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman will be a priority,” Soltvedt said.
© 2023 AFP
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