UAE national technical experts receive hands-on defense manufacturing training in South Africa

As part of Tawazun Holding's ongoing commitment to build local defense manufacturing capabilities, UAE national employees from Tawazun Dynamics LLC, the Abu Dhabi-based manufacturer of precision guided systems for air munitions, have returned to the UAE following intensive specialist training in South Africa.

The 8-month training course was hosted by Denel, South Africa's largest government-owned defense manufacturer with support from the local partner, Tawazun Dynamics. The Emirati employees received instruction in the area of manufacturing assembly and integration of precision-guided systems for conventional air munitions.

The program was designed to equip the technicians with all the necessary skills to assemble and integrate Tawazun Dynamics' flagship product, "Al Tariq" system, through 9 different modules. Each module addressed the different stages of the manufacturing process from the initiation safety awareness to the final "Al Tariq" testing.

Hamad Al Marar, General Manager of Tawazun Dynamics, said, "Capability building and knowledge transfer efforts are two of the critical foundation pillars needed to allow Tawazun Dynamics to realize its potential. Our aspiration to build a globally-leading specialist business in its field goes hand in hand with our desire to build a local workforce with world-class expertise and standards. Through the right partnerships and application, we aim to support the development of a young generation of Emirati professionals who have both the technical skills needed to contend in the global defense industry marketplace as well as to provide the UAE with a strong base of national industry experts who will help lead and inspire the generations which follow."

Reflecting on his experience, one of the Tawazun Dynamics trainees, Mohamed Al Blooshi, commented, "This training was a great learning opportunity and we found the work environment to be extremely engaging and motivational. The courses were truly comprehensive and helped develop our skills on a professional as well as on a personal level."

Another trainee, Yaser Al Hosani said, "We see this training as a very important step in our career development path. We are honored to have been selected and feel a great responsibility to bring back the gained knowledge and expertise, share them with our colleagues, and work towards matching the best international standards in defense manufacturing locally here in the UAE."

The training is part of Tawazun Holding's on-going employee development program which is designed to build home-grown UAE-based defense manufacturing capability through the development and empowerment of local technical experts, as well as sharing expertise across the strategic manufacturing sector to support a culture of innovation and world-leading quality standards.

Tawazun Dynamics was established in September 2012, when Tawazun Holding announced its partnership with the Dynamics division of Denel. The resulting joint venture, Tawazun Dynamics, is operating the Middle East's first and largest facility for the development, manufacture, assembly and integration of precision-guided systems for conventional air munitions. Tawazun Dynamics is 51% owned by Tawazun Holding and 49% by Denel.

Along with all other Tawazun Holding subsidiaries, Tawazun Dynamics will be showcasing its products under the Tawazun pavilion at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) 2013, taking place February 17-21 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC).

RAF Typhoon aircraft exercise in UAE

Typhoon aircraft of 6 Squadron have been exercising with a multinational contingent at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.

This has been the first time that aircraft, engineers and pilots from the squadron, normally based at RAFLeuchars, have deployed together on the Advanced Tactical Leadership Course (ATLC), which runs each year at Al Dhafra Air Base.

Wing Commander Mike Baulkwill, Officer Commanding 6 Squadron, said:

We have been sent out here to conduct this multinational exercise that looks at large scale air operations involving many aircraft.

The exercise has been run over a number of weeks, giving the pilots, ground crew and support staff an opportunity to work alongside other nations. The squadron have been running air interdiction missions, self-escort missions and offensive and defensive counter air missions as part of the exercise. This has required the pilots and aircraft to be quick and reactive in a multi-role platform in all types of operational scenarios.

The exercise has been conducted in 2 parts - one wave of flying per day in support of the ATLC missions and one following wave each day where the pilots can fly alongside multinational aircraft to conduct further training.

Wing Commander Baulkwill added:

We have seen the ground crew and pilots from 6 Squadron lead and operate in a very different environment. Everybody at every rank is learning something from this exercise. We are learning to operate fully combat capable aircraft in a hot and dry environment which is very different to conditions at RAF Leuchars in the UK.

Senior Aircraftman Sam Norry, an Aircraft Maintenance Mechanic on 6 Squadron, said:

This is my first detachment and it has been much harder work out here. There are a lot more elements to contend with - temperatures alone are incredible, you have to drink a lot more water. Not only that, on the engineering side of things, you don’t have that instant support that you have in the UK - there are fewer people to work on the aircraft so you really have to work together and work hard to get the jobs done.

An RAF Typhoon from 6 Squadron at Al Dhafra Air Base [Picture: Crown Copyright/MOD 2013]

To summarise the squadron’s support to the ATLC, Wing Commander Baulkwill said:

We have been operating huge missions with other nations, sometimes operating an air picture involving 60 aircraft with simulated high threat missions. It has been incredibly hard work for all of the pilots and the ground crew to support this.

We have found ourselves pushed hard, and the Typhoon aircraft has performed exceptionally well.

The systems that it has on board are second-to-none and we have seen the benefit of that - it has been impressive to say the least.

U.S. arms to Gulf allies hint of strategy

The largest infusion of U.S. arms ever for Persian Gulf allies has shifted more toward offensive weapons at the same time that President Obama’s military strategy says it will rely more on allied firepower in any future war.

The only war on the horizon for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and four other Gulf coalition partners would be with nearby Iran.
Noting U.S. sales of air defense-penetrating F-16s and F-15s, satellite-guided bombs and a pending order for ordnance that can burrow deep and then explode, analysts say Gulf nations could participate in a U.S. air campaign to strike Iran’s nuclear sites.
These American-armed nations could either be part of an overall war plan or be forced to enter the battle once Iran counterattacks, as expected, with missile launches.
“The thinking certainly is that Iran would retaliate against the Gulf states, or at least against the facilities in the Gulf that we use,” said Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East analyst at the Congressional Research Service. “That would certainly draw the Gulf states into any conflict that went on. The Gulf might become embroiled in this conflict, and I think they’ve calculated it’s best to be prepared.”
There has been public focus on the U.S. military buildup in the Gulf — more aircraft carriers, warplanes and strike groups studded with Tomahawk cruise missiles; more minesweeping ships; a visit by Air Force F-22 stealth jets; and thousands of Army soldiers positioned in Kuwait.
But just as methodically, the George W. Bush and Obama administrations have approved a series of large arms sales that are giving some oil-rich Gulf states offensive capabilities that would make Iran think twice about an attack.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta underscored the alliance Dec. 11 when he landed in Kuwait, a staunch Gulf ally, for consultations. He also spoke to some of the 13,500 U.S. troops stationed there.
“Our presence in Kuwait and throughout the Gulf helps advance the capabilities of partnering nations, deters aggression and helps ensure we’re better able to respond to crisis in the region,” Mr. Panetta told reporters beforehand.
At a Kuwait air base, he said America has 50,000 troops and an armada of warships in the region.

Desert Falcons
Mr. Obama’s strategic guidance in January enabled cuts in U.S. troop strength in part by saying that allies would be tasked with providing more firepower in future wars. To observers, that seems to mean the Gulf states would be asked to do more.
The Congressional Research Service, which tracks global arms sales, took special note in its latest report on U.S. weapons pouring into the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.
“The U.S. arms agreements with Saudi Arabia were extraordinary, and represent, by far, the largest share of U.S. agreements with the world or developing world in 2011,” the Congressional Research Service said.
Of $56 billion in total U.S. arms sales in 2011 to developing nations, more than half — $33 billion — were inked with the Saudi kingdom. U.S. defense contractors have seen a sales increase from $14 billion in contracts in 2010 to $56 billion in 2011, mostly thanks to oil-rich Gulf states.

In addition, some of the offensive hardware that the Gulf states have received from the U.S. is as good or in some cases better than the U.S. military‘s.
Lockheed Martin has been selling the United Arab Emirates an F-16 “Desert Falcon” version known as “Block 60,” for which the country bankrolled the $3 billion development costs. According to DefenseIndustryDaily.com, it is a notch better than the latest Fighting Falcons flown by U.S. pilots.
The Desert Falcons boast extended range, new radars and targeting pods that clearly make the jet an offensive threat against Iran directly across Gulf waters.
The United Arab Emirates has been buying and flying Block 60s since the previous decade. It plans at some point to add other weapons — 2,000-pound bunker-busting bombs used against buried, cemented targets. Obama administration officials said a year ago that they were working to complete the sale.
“It’s perfectly possible the UAE could be asked to try to bomb aircraft shelters, hardened aircraft hangars’ stockpiles, coastal missile sites that are hardened,” Mr. Katzman said. “There are a range of targets that coalition partners like UAE could be asked to take out as part of strike package, if it comes to that.”
The Saudi stockpile
The United Arab Emirates‘ Sunni Arab neighbor Saudi Arabia also is buying more aggressive weapons.
It signed a deal last year to buy 2,000 joint direct attack munitions — a weapon system that turns unguided bombs into guided missiles, and has been used extensively by the Navy and Air Force to destroy targets in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Saudi Arabia also signed a deal to buy 84 F-15SAs and to upgrade its fleet of 70 warplanes.
The F-15s can unleash a wide array of ordnance, including the satellite-guided joint direct attack munitions, Harpoon ship-blasting missiles and anti-tank bombs called the Sensor-Fuzed Weapon.
Such offensive weapons are increasing in importance to the Gulf, given Israel’s reported plans to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if the West does not stop the Islamic republic’s pursuit of atomic weapons.
The Gulf states “also see the Shiite-dominated Iran as a general destabilizing force in their neighborhood,” said retired Air ForceLt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, who advocates military action against Tehran.
“Clearly, the Sunni Arabs are very concerned about [Shiites] sweeping across the Arabian Peninsula into Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, fueled by Iran’s leadership and resources,” Gen. McInerney said. “The U.S. sale of modern aircraft and weapons is designed to help them cope with this threat.”
He said the Gulf nations also are banking on assistance to which they would never admit publicly. “Covertly, they are supporting the Israelis’ counter [to the Shiites],” he said.
From Iran’s vantage point, the Persian Gulf looks like this: The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, constantly patrols the waterway. To the west and south on land, the Gulf nations are acquiring an increasingly potent arsenal of planes, missiles and bombs.
“We have been selling these countries weapons of varying sophistication for 20-plus years as part of our overall approach to ensuring regional security and stability,” said James Russell, an instructor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.
“We really ramped up our entire defense relationships with these countries after we ejected [Iraqi dictator] Saddam Hussein from Kuwait,” said Mr. Russell, a former Pentagon official involved in foreign arms sales. “We went around the region concluding Defense Cooperation Agreements with each of these states, except Saudi Arabia, which provided a framework for arms sales, prepositioned equipment, forward deployed forces, and training and exercises.
“We want these countries to be able to defend themselves and be able to operate and train with us, since we are the ones ultimately guaranteeing the security of the region,” Mr. Russell said.

Two Powers, Qatar And Iran, Try To Sway Hamas

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--The courtship of Hamas between rivals Iran and Qatar has been one of the Middle East's intriguing subplots of the Arab Spring. The bloodshed in Gaza has now sharpened their competition for influence with the Palestinian militant group and the direction it takes in the future.
Qatar has sought to use its vast wealth to win over Hamas with investments and humanitarian aid and encouraging Arab partners to do the same — part of the hyper-rich U.S. allied nation's broader campaign to bring under its wing Islamist movements that have risen to power in the region the past two years. Qatar's influence with Hamas could edge it away from armed action toward diplomacy.
Iran, meanwhile, is invigorating its longtime role as the builder of the rocket arsenal for Hamas' military wing.
For Hamas, there are benefits in both directions — and it's happy to play both sides. During a celebration rally in Gaza City after an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire came into place ending fighting between Israel and Hamas, Gazans wildly waved flags of Qatar, along with those of Egypt and Turkey, in gratitude for those countries' diplomatic support.
At the same time, Hamas' leader-in-exile Khaled Mashaal, who is based out of Qatar, gave a very public thanks to Iran for standing by Gaza with crucial military assistance. Fighters in Gaza also hailed the new reach of their arsenal, with Iranian-designed Fajr-5 rattling Israel by reaching the outskirts of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Visiting the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday, Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani, who is close to the country's supreme leader, promised leaders of Palestinian militant groups that his country would continue to boost "the resistance's capabilities in confronting the Zionist arrogance and aggression," according to Palestinian official Khaled Abdul-Hamid, who attended the meeting.
The reminder of Hamas' reliance on Iran for weapons could help smooth a relationship that has been running through a rough patch because of the civil war in Syria, Iran's top ally.
Embarrassed by the Syrian regime's crackdown on a mainly Sunni Muslim uprising, Hamas leaders based in Damascus for years broke with Syria and left for Qatar and Egypt. Though Iran continued to send weapons to Hamas, the break undermined the "Axis of Resistance" grouping Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas that Iran has assembled in the Arab world.
It's doubtful Iran can fully reclaim its position as the main big brother for Hamas. But Tehran's image is certain to receive some lingering boost in Gaza.
For Hamas, hyper-rich Qatar is a political and economic lifeline, a key part of the militant group's attempts to bolster its ties with the Western-backed Gulf states in efforts gain more international legitimacy. Last month, Qatar's emir became the first head of state to visit the Gaza Strip since Hamas took control five years ago. The Gulf state pledged nearly $500 million in aid and a song called "Thank you, Qatar" played on Gaza radio and TV as the emir was given a hero's welcome.
During the heat of the Gaza battle the past week, Qatar's prime minister gave a blistering dressing down to the Arab League during an emergency meeting, saying Arab nations had to do more to fight Gaza's poverty and isolation than just pass resolutions.
"We can't give hope without delivering," Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Al Thani told the gathering last week in Cairo.
Two days after his outburst at the Arab League meeting in Cairo, Sheik Hamad suggested that his country would be willing to open dialogue with Israel on a long-term Gaza truce if it leads to lifting the blockade. The Arab Spring, he added, has made Israel feel more vulnerable, but also perhaps more ready to make deals.
"We need to talk with everyone to reach a comprehensive peace," he told CNN on Monday.
For Qatar, the outreach to Gaza also is part of far wider ambitions to become a major policy-shaper in the Middle East. The tiny Gulf nation has emerged as a strong backer of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has risen to power in Tunisia and Egypt after the fall of those countries' autocratic leaders in early 2011.
In February, Qatar brokered talks between Hamas' Mashaal and his longtime rival, internationally backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Qatar has also sought to influence Syria's rebels. This month, it hosted Syrian opposition groups in a breakthrough effort to unite rebel factions under one coalition, which has opened the way for greater international recognition and promises of aid. Qatar had led calls to supply Syrian rebels with heavy weapons to counter air and tank attacks by Bashar Assad's forces. Qatar also was a key backer of the Libyan uprising.
On Thursday, Qatar also invited the newly formed Syrian opposition coalition to appoint its ambassador to the Gulf state, the Qatari news agency reported.
Salman Shaikh, director of The Brookings Doha Center in Qatar, said it's not a matter of "having to go all for Iran or all for Qatar.'
"What Qatar is trying to do is change the reality. They are trying to blaze a trail that will weaken the international isolation of Gaza from the Israeli blockade," he said.
Qatar has so far stopped short of offering any kind of military support for Gaza to avoid a rift with Washington, Israel's most powerful ally.
Iran takes a very different view.
Officials in Tehran boasted this week about its longtime arms support for Hamas militants — part of Iran's bookend strategy to equip anti-Israel factions in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon on Israel's northern border.
Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, the head of the Revolutionary Guard, said Iran supplied fighters in Gaza with the technology to "quickly" produce the Fajr-5 missiles. The statement fits with previous Iranian denials that it is not directly sending missiles to Gaza, but suggests close coordination on construction and movement of supplies, presumably through the smugglers' tunnels linking Gaza and Egypt.
The Gaza fighting, at the least, bought Iran some restored street credibility as its image was battered by its backing for the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
"The war with Israel reminded Hamas that Israel is the main issue not Syria," said Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a professor in politics in Tehran's Allameh University.
But Hamid Reza Shokouhi, editor of Iran's independent Mardomsalari daily, said the bump in Iran's popularity with Gazans could be only "short-term." He questioned whether Iran could sustain its influence in Gaza against the almost unlimited resources of Qatar and its Gulf partners.
Iran's Foreign Ministry and a parliamentary committee have applied for permission to visit Gaza in the coming weeks via the border crossing with Egypt, said Hasan Qashqavi, deputy foreign minister in charge of consular affairs.
Qatar's prime minister said the competition for influence is Gaza only likely to intensify as other nations such as Turkey and Egypt reach out.
"We are not trying to take Hamas from anybody else, from Iran or others," he said in the CNN interview. "Hamas, they have to decide for themselves. I think they are pretty mature to decide for themselves."

UAE, Qatar seek advanced US missile defense system

Pentagon confirms request of up to $7.6 billion in Lockheed missile-defense system to counter growing regional threats.

 

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have requested the sale of up to $7.6 billion in Lockheed Martin Corp missile-defense systems to counter perceived threats and lower their dependence on US forces, the Pentagon announced on Monday.

The sale is part of Washington's ongoing effort to deepen its cooperation with Gulf nations on missile defense and increase pressure on Iran over its nuclear program.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which oversees foreign arms sales, formally notified lawmakers on Friday that it had approved the possible sales, which come against the backdrop of heightened tensions with Iran.
Lawmakers now have 30 days to block the potential sales although such action is rare since deals are carefully vetted with lawmakers weeks before the notifications are posted.
Lockheed told reporters in August that Saudi Arabia and its closest regional partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council had shown interest in the company's Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon systems.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met GCC officials in September and US officials said initial missile-defense sales could be announced soon.
The GCC is a political and economic alliance linking Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Washington has been working with Gulf states on a bilateral basis, not as a group, to boost the range of radar coverage and related capabilities across the Gulf for the earliest possible defense against any missiles fired by Iran.
The United States and its allies say Iran is seeking nuclear weapons capability under the cover of a civil program. Iran denies this, but has been hit with a series of international sanctions over its nuclear work.
US goal is development of "regional shield"
On Monday, the Pentagon said Qatar had requested the possible sale of two THAAD fire units, 12 launchers, 150 interceptors, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $6.5 billion.
The UAE, which signed an initial order for $1.96 billion of THAAD weapons systems in December, requested an additional 48 THAAD missiles, 9 launchers and other equipment valued at $1.135 billion, according to a DSCA notification.
It said the proposed sale would contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping two countries that have been and remain key forces "for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East."
Raytheon Co is another key contractor on the program.
THAAD is a US Army system designed to shoot down short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles with an interceptor that slams into its target.
It can accept cues from Lockheed's Aegis weapons system, satellites and other external sensors, and works in tandem with the PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 terminal air-defense missile. THAAD includes its own radar along with interceptors and communications and fire control units.
US officials have said their ultimate goal is a regional shield that can be coordinated with US systems, a system similar to Washington's drive to expand missile defense to protect NATO's European territory against ballistic missiles that could be fired by Iran.
THAAD is part of a layered missile shield being built to defend the United States and its friends and allies against ballistic missiles of all ranges and in all phases of flight. The system is being optimized against Iran and North Korea.

 

UAE Halts Talks to Buy French Rafale Fighter Jets -Report

The United Arab Emirates has halted negotiations with France to buy Rafale fighter jets, which are manufactured by French aerospace firm Dassault Aviation (AM.FR), French newspaper Le Parisien said, citing the country's defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian.
"I didn't go to the United Arab Emirates for the Rafales. The Rafales will wait. This discussion will come later," Le Drian said, according to the newspaper. The minister traveled to the UAE last weekend.
He said the Gulf country has decided to reduce the share of its military spending on French equipment to 10% from a previous level of 70%, Le Parisien reported. The renewal of the UAE air force's fleet would be worth close to 10 billion euros ($12.9 billion), the newspaper said.

Last year, Le Drian's predecessor, Gerard Longuet, had said there was a high probability that France could sell as many as 60 Rafales to the UAE. Dassault, which supplies the French airforce with Rafale jets, hasn't found a customer outside France yet.

The Drian the UAE to discuss the Rafale, among other

The defense minister travels to Abu Dhabi this weekend. The movement has a political connotation in the first place, even if export issues will be discussed.

After his European tour, Jean-Yves Le Drian takes the high seas. The defense minister went on Sunday for two days in the UAE, one of the few countries with which France has established a strategic bilateral defense. Meanwhile Brazil in early November, and India, in principle next year, he will discuss with his counterparts all major geopolitical issues of the moment, but also those related to exports.What revive speculation about the Rafale?

Jean-Yves Le Drian is the first member of the government Ayrault to visit the UAE. His first move has a political connotation. "France and the UAE are aligned on all the hot topics of the moment, such as Iran or Syria, but we need to strengthen political dialogue," says one in his entourage. The Defence Minister will then visit the three permanent French military bases located on-site implementation of the agreement of self-defense that binds the two countries.

"Stand-by"

Beyond purely military matters, this movement will also be the opportunity to speak exports at a time when the flow of orders from Emirates French manufacturers are at their lowest. The first case, of course, is that the Rafale. Despite (because of that) his strong personal involvement, Nicolas Sarkozy failed to wrest a contract. Launched in June 2008, negotiations have had their ups and downs. Since the change of government in France, they are in "standby".

The visit of Jean-Yves Le Drian will she revive them? Not sure, because Emirati are in no hurry to replace their 60 Mirage 2000-9 that give them satisfaction (as well as 80 F-16s, also at the top of the technology). Moreover, Abu Dhabi must find one or more countries able to take before going to the generation Rafale. No representative of Dassault is also provided in the French delegation.

Jean-Yves Le Drian evoke perhaps another very important issue because it concerns Nexter. The Emirates have studied the modernization of their fleet of armored hoping for the former Giat Industries to place hundreds of VBCI. The figure covers 700 copies circulated. Local authorities have even asked that consideration be given to establishing a joint venture with Tawazun the local arms industry. To cut short in September any negotiations, according to our information, without knowing whether the Finnish Patria, the competitor vying for this market, suffered the same fate. "There has been a turnaround which we do not know the cause," says a source close to the matter.