DUBAI: The UAE Air Force is to get two new long-range multirole surveillance aircraft and upgrades to two existing surveillance craft under a $1.27 billion (Dh4.66 billion) deal with SAAB that was announced at Dubai Airshow on Monday.
Neither SAAB nor the UAE Ministry of Defence would reveal details of new Erieye radar system installed in the Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft, other than to say it had air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea capabilities, but “it is a game-changer of surveillance capability” said SAAB president and CEO Hakan Buskhe.
The deal was announced by Major General Abdullah Al Hashemi, of the UAE Ministry of Defence, in a joint press conference with SAAB.
“We are not going into details,” said Buskhe, “but it is a new platform with increased endurance, and the suite of sensors is new.”
The UAE is the first nation to acquire the new craft, he added. The new sensors were compatible with the UAE’s existing radar systems.
Maj Gen Al Hashemi said no delivery date for the new aircraft had been finalised, but that it could be within two years. The $1.27 billion package included upgrades to two of the UAE’s existing SAAB 340 surveillance aircraft, he said.
