The UAE has attained impressive breakthroughs in the civil and military aviation industry in recent years, as represented by the development of components for use in modern aircraft produced by Europe’s Airbus and America’s Boeing.
This is on top of the achievement by the Adco System Company, which made the first Emirati unmanned aircraft. Also in the space is Al Ain-based Strata Manufacturing and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise.
The common belief is that the UAE has only succeeded in establishing world-class airlines through Emirates and Etihad as well as Air Arabia, and that it has become the biggest buyer of modern aircraft.
For example, the national airlines have made up 65 per cent of the total sales of Boeing in the Middle East this year, while orders by Emirati companies comprise 44 per cent of the total orders in the region.
Besides this remarkable progress, the UAE has worked in the development of its aviation industry, especially as its substantial orders qualify it to enter partnerships with leading global aircraft manufacturers. Shared interests prompt these companies to establish partnerships beneficial to both.
Strata Manufacturing, owned by Mubadala, was founded in 2010 with a proposed investment outlay of Dh4.8 billion ($1.3 billion) for the production of aircraft components. It is expected to supply modern aircraft, including the Dreamliner, from next year onwards. These components are made according to cutting-edge technologies and from composite materials.
Another breakthrough, no less important, is that Adc System has succeeded in developing an advanced unmanned aircraft known as United 40, which can fly for 100 hours and can carry up to 10 air-to-ground missiles, prompting 10 countries, including the US and Russia to express their buying interest. The value of the deals is no less than Dh1 billion.
This will have economic and scientific consequences that are important for the future of advanced manufacturing in the country.
Apart from the transport and service-related sectors, which have developed significantly and contributed significantly to the GDP, the parallel development of hi-tech industries alongside aluminium and petrochemicals as well as some military-related endeavours will bring about a qualitative leap in the UAE economy and lead to further diversification in alternative sources of income and job creation for skilled local personnel.
Apart from income diversity, which is a corollary for the post-oil era, this allows the localisation of modern technology, especially since a large number of qualified personnel are Emirati citizens. It means giving Emiratis the opportunity not only to acquire such technologies, but also to develop them, as is evidenced by the production of the United 40 drones.
In fact, the most important elements for success in this modern experience are available in the UAE. First, there is the leadership which has the boldness to make decisions, and second is the abundant investments in the government and private sectors, which makes them capable of meeting the requirements of capital-intensive projects.
The third factor is the country’s easy access to relatively cheap labour, thus offering these projects the preference and the ability to compete in global markets, as well as paving the ground for developing this sector, as has been the case in the advanced economies.
Besides the obvious economic benefits, this approach will contribute to enhancing the defence capabilities of the UAE and the GCC in general, which will be a boost to the stability and security environment and in turn allows for more projects with economic diversification as their core.
— Dr Mohammad Al Asoomi is a UAE economic expert and specialist in economic and social development in the UAE and the GCC countries.