Russia’s government arms trade agency Rosoboronexport is restoring ties with Iran, continuing deliveries to Syria and otherwise planning to boost sales to the Middle East region.
In 2008, the sale of U.S. precision-guided weapons to Saudi Arabia was controversial in Congress. But the sale of all kinds of weapons to the oil-rich kingdom has picked up, particularly since 2010.
A team of three PhD students from the Sharjah campus of Khalifa University may have found a method of solving a perennial problem for the region's aviation industry. And in the process, they could also have identified a new application for unmanned aircraft.
The restructuring earlier this year of one of the world’s leading maintenance, repair and overhaul organizations, Ameco Beijing, will increase its competitiveness at home and overseas, and bring new capabilities to its customers.
Northstar Aviation, the UAE-based company which has developed a bespoke armed version of the Bell 407 light helicopter, is in negotiations with several Middle Eastern states for more sales of the aircraft.
Satair Group is expanding its 3,700-square-meter facility in Dubai by 800 square meters to increase capacity to support aircraft operators in the region.
Lockheed Martin could offer Turkey’s Stand-Off Missile as a weapon for U.S. Air Force and Navy F-35s, after signing a deal with a Turkish manufacturer to develop the weapon.
Emirates wants more airline operational data for the Airbus A350 before making a decision about an order for the type, or for more Boeing 787s, the airline's President Tim Clark said at the Dubai Air Show.
As combat aviation evolves, the plethora of sensors and subsystems fielded on individual platforms increases. Today's fighter jets carry more ISR capabilities than specialist recce platforms of the past, while gesture- or voice-controlled cockpits are no longer the preserve of science fiction.
The ‘Spirit of the Emirates’ project would see a fleet of three Zeppelin NT airships carrying paying passengers on flights of between 30 minutes and three hours.
As missile technology improves, the challenge of seeing the threat requires new thinking. Overlaying complementary sensor capabilities can help maintain coverage, while interoperability between allies will reinforce the defensive posture.
AVIC is displaying a model of the FC-31 outside China for the first time and stated it has plans to fly a production version of the fifth-generation fighter by 2019.
With the UAE's fighter requirement still unfilled, a sale to Kuwait agreed in principle, and possible interest from other nations in the region, Typhoon might once again be the talk of the show.
Interoperability is the watchword for the next phase of development of the Patriot missile-defense system. And it is Patriot users in the Middle East who are leading the way.
Swarming like bees around an elephant, Yves Rossy, the Swiss inventor of the jet engine-powered wing, and his protégé Vince Reffet, earlier this month conducted an unprecedented formation flight over Dubai with an Emirates Airline A380.
