The UAE’s Defence Ministry has signed an AED2.51bn ($681m) contract with US-based Raytheon for the acquisition of guided bomb units – GBU-12 and GBU-10 – and accessories at the Dubai Airshow.

Other contracts signed by the ministry on 14 November include:

• AED305.45m with the local C4 Advanced Solution
• AED157m with the local CAE Maritime for remotely controlled training systems
• AED41.32m with the US’ Iomax for the modernisation of the Airtractor fleet
• AED57.5m with Belarus-based Beltech Exports for the maintenance of radar systems
• AED32.6m with Switzerland’s Rheinmetall Air Defence for 35-millimetre artillery shells
• AED74.01m with Turkey’s Chemical & Mechanical Industries for MK84 and MK82 bombs

The ministry has signed a total of AED13.16bn of deals in the first three days of the five-day Dubai Airshow.

On 12 November, the ministry signed an AED6.05bn contract with the US’ Lockheed Martin to upgrade its fleet of 80 F-16 fighter aircraft.

The contract entails upgrading the aircraft’s on-board equipment, which includes specialised processors and computers, according to Ishaq Saleh al-Baloushi, executive director at the Defence Ministry’s Defence Industry & Capability Development.

The existing fleet of 80 jet fighters includes several replacements, although Al-Baloushi declined to indicate how many of the original 80 aircraft had been lost and replaced.

MEED understands one of the UAE’s jet fighters crashed in Yemen as recently as mid-October, while another crash, also in Yemen, was reported in March 2016.

Both Al-Baloushi and Abdullah al-Sayed al-Hashemi, chief of the Military Committee and spokesman for the UAE Armed Forces, maintained that the deal is consistent with the long-term modernisation strategy of the country’s defence fleet.

Both ruled out any acceleration in spending due to the seemingly growing tension in the region. “[Our] region has always been in conflict, so we constantly invest in defence and security,” Al-Hashemi said.