HelpUAE confirms C-17, C-130J orders – this time for real
February 24th, 2009 | IDEX 2009 | Posted by Pierre Tran
Abu Dhabi – The UAE confirmed on Feb. 24 the biggest open secret of the IDEX arms show — that its armed forces have ordered four Boeing C-17 and 12 Lockheed Martin C-130J transport aircraft. The Defense News Show Scout broke the story even before the show opened.
The total deal was worth AED 10.7 billion ($2.78 billion).
Major General Obaid Al Ketbi told a press conference the UAE armed forces were buying the C-17s and C-130Js in a bid to “upgrade its strategic and tactical air transport.” The planes would be used in rescue and humanitarian missions worldwide, he said.
The purchase of Boeing aircraft was worth AED 4.3 billion ($1.3 billion), while the Lockheed Martin deal was valued at AED 5.9 billion ($1.6 billion).
The armed forces gave a mandate to Waha Capital, a quoted local company, to arrange and manage a financing facility of AED 11 billion for the aircraft purchase.
In other contracts signed at the show:
- Rheinmetall Defence Electronics beat Saab in a competition for a 439.4 million AED ($ 125 million) deal to provide a combat training center;
- Abu Dhabi Aviation has been awarded an AED 133.2 million contract to operate seven AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters used for search and rescue and as flying ambulances;
- Advanced Integrated Systems signed two contracts worth AED 432.7 million to purchase machines, tools and programs for work on radar systems;
- Special Operations Command outsourced a training school to Spectre Training and Evaluation, a local company, in a deal worth AED 316 million; and
- Global Aerospace Logistics, a UAE company, has been awarded a contract to provide technical support for a Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft.
ENDS
One Response to “UAE confirms C-17, C-130J orders – this time for real”
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UAE Orders C-17s, C-130Js Says:
February 25th, 2009 at 11:27 pm[...] purchases, and has been tapped to finance the C-17 and C-130J contracts. Flight International | Defense News | bNet | Jerusalem [...]
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