UAE Armed Forces signs contracts worth Dh4.9bn

The UAE signed 19 defence contracts totalling Dh4.9 billion on Tuesday with three more expected to be signed, a top official said. Major General Obaid Al Ketbi, chairman of the organising committee for the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (Idex 2013), announced that the UAE in particular focuses on encouraging local firms which proved that they have international standards. “Our local companies are well established and they produce products that are of high quality at the international level. We are diversifying our economy in line with our strategic vision for the UAE,” he said. With this, the total value of deals signed at Idex 2013 rose to Dh15 billion in three days. Yesterday’s signed deals include a Dh1.8 billion agreement with AMMROC, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, to maintain aircraft, a Dh430.7 million deal with Raytheon, to buy GBU12 and GBU58 bomb integrators.