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Abu Dhabi: Deals worth Dh650 million signed on opening day of Umex 2022

The figure has already exceeded the last edition’s overall amount of Dh624 million reached on the first two days

The UAE Armed Forces signed record deals worth more than Dh650 million on the opening day of the fifth edition of the Unmanned Systems Exhibition (Umex) and the Simulation and Training Exhibition (SimTEX) held in Abu Dhabi.

The UAE Armed Forces inked three major deals with the transactions being led by Global Aerospace Logistics. The Abu Dhabi-based company signed deals worth Dh639,005,800 for offering technical support services, maintenance, repair and spare parts. The other two deals were inked with Abu Dhabi-based International Golden Group valued at Dh10 million for drone systems and South Africa’s Denel Dynamics worth Dh5,597,652 for their technical support services for aircraft systems.

The exhibition is the only event in the Middle East dedicated to drones, robots, unmanned systems, and their components. Hosted at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, the exhibition is held in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence.

Colonel Staff Pilot Abdulnasir Mohamed Al Hameedi, official spokesperson for the exhibition, said there has been an increased focus on unmanned systems and developing the national capacities.

“The main focus of the deals was on purchase of unmanned systems, technical support, maintenance and training. The basic concern for the defence is to find a complete system of unmanned, its related logistics and training. It’s a complete package that the defence looked at,” Al Hameedi told Khaleej Times.

The total deals amounted to Dh654.6 million, with local contracts at Dh649 million and international company around Dh5.5 million. The opening day figure has already exceeded the last edition’s overall amount of Dh624 million reached on the first two days.

“We are very pleased that we have concluded the first day with such a figure. We are looking forward to the next two days.”

Asked about the increased budget of the Armed Forces, Al Hameedi said: “It’s mainly because of the expanding need and requirements for unmanned systems. So, it is on an exponential growth. So, hopefully in the next edition you will see a higher number. It’s an emerging technology that is getting bigger and bigger in several sectors and not just defence.”

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Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Staff Pilot Salem Mohammed AlBlooshi, the official spokesperson for the exhibitions, said the organisation of the exhibition and the deals signed prove that the UAE continues to attract major companies.

“We dealt with the biggest pandemic in the world. The world has witnessed the ability of the UAE to deal with such a crisis. This also shows our ability to host such an event. The UAE is a model to follow in the region when it comes to striking deals, especially in artificial intelligence, unmanned systems and training as well. So, all these factors made the UAE a very successful organiser of such events.”

The three-day event features 134 exhibitors from 26 countries, with seven nations participating for the first time.