Desert countries are frequently victims of their elevation. They tend to be mostly flat, making it tough for air to climb upwards and form rain clouds. The United Arab Emirates thinks there's a direct solution to this, however: make your own mountain. It's in the early stages of developing an artificial mountain that would force air upwards and create clouds that (with seeding) could produce additional rainfall. In theory, an arid landscape could become verdant over time.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) appears to be constructing a new port next to Assab International Airport in Eritrea, which could become its first permanent military base in a foreign country.
Satellite imagery shows rapid progress has been made since work began sometime after September 2015. A square of coastline measuring about 250x250 m has already been excavated and dredged, while a pier and/or breakwater is being constructed and already extends over 700 m from the original coastline.
The UAE has signed a memorandum of understanding with the People’s Republic of China concerning defining a framework for collaboration in studies and development in space science, as well as the peaceful exploration of outer space. The signing came during the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to China. The visit aimed at exploring collaboration opportunities in various sectors, including energy, space, financial services, commerce, transportation and education.
According to the new MoU, the UAE Space Agency and China National Space Agency will represent the two countries in exchanging information, studies and scientific data in the field of space exploration and peaceful exploitation. The data exchange will include scientific and research expertise, as well as training, capacity building, lectures, conferences, and other space related domains.
The MoU also covers collaboration in research and development of satellites for scientific, testing, remote sensing, and communications purposes. The collaboration will include services such as launching, follow up, control, as well as developing and controlling ground satellite systems.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have both acquired Chinese-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to meet urgent operational requirements arising from their military intervention in Yemen, it was revealed during a panel discussion held by the Atlantic Council think tank on 8 December.
"The drones the UAE is using in Yemen are Chinese because they failed to get US approval," US Marine Corps General (retired) James L Jones said. Gen Jones served as National Security Advisor in 2009-2010 and is now affiliated with the Atlantic Council.
Nawaf Obaid, a former advisor to the Saudi ambassadors to the United Kingdom and the United States, immediately added "that is true, us too", indicating Saudi Arabia has also acquired Chinese UAVs because it could not obtain US ones.
"[The UAVs are] an example of things we could have done, but we didn't do, and now people who are more agile have been able to send drones to the UAE," Jones said. "We have a serious problem in the way and the speed with which we come to the aid of our friends and allies with equipment."
The U.S. Navy hopes to combine U.S. Navy orders and potential foreign demand for the V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft built by Boeing Co and Textron's Bell Helicopter in a third five-year agreement.
Marine Corps Colonel Dan Robinson, who runs the programme for the Navy, said on Tuesday the goal was to secure commitments from potential foreign buyers by June 2016 in order to get congressional approval for a multiyear, multibillion-dollar deal that could cut the plane's cost by 10 percent.
He said three or four countries had expressed strong interest in the aircraft, and estimated that the United States could sell 20 to 24 V-22 Ospreys to foreign countries in the near term.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in the final stages of negotiations to buy French Rafale fighter jets, the head of the Gulf nation’s air force told Reuters on Wednesday.
Abu Dhabi, which is looking to purchase 60 fighters worth an estimated $10 billion, is studying the Dassault-built Rafale after rejecting the four-nation Eurofighter.
“I think we are in the final stage of negotiations,” Major General Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi, commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence, said in an interview at the Dubai Airshow when asked how close the UAE was to a deal to buy the Rafale.
In Paris, the French defense ministry declined to comment and Dassault Aviation was not immediately available.
The United Arab Emirates has selected the AW609 design from AgustaWestland to fulfill its requirement for a tiltrotor search and rescue aircraft, the Armed Forces' Joint Aviation Command announced Tuesday.
However, a senior Boeing official told Defense News late Tuesday that the agreement should have no impact on ongoing discussions with the UAE about Bell Boeing’s V-22 design, as the company is targeting a different mission for the Osprey.
The selection of the AW609 gives a launch customer for the search and rescue design of the aircraft.
Delivery of the first three aircraft is expected to start in the "2019 timeframe," AgustaWestland said in a news release, while the UAE holds options on three more aircraft. The systems will be operated by the UAE's Joint Aviation Command.
Russia is negotiating with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) possible deliveries of Sukhoi Su-35 fighters, Russia’s state technologies corporation Rostec head Sergey Chemezov said Sunday.
The blueprints and science goals for the first Arab mission to Mars have been revealed for the first time. The Emirates Mars Mission probe, named “Hope”, will create mankind’s first integrated model of the Red Planet’s atmosphere.
The unmanned probe will leave Earth in 2020 on a mission designed to complement the science work of other missions and fill important gaps in human knowledge. Its unique orbits and instruments produce entirely new types of data on Martian climate dynamics to be shared with the global science community.
“The Emirates Mars Mission will be a great contribution to human knowledge, a milestone for Arab civilisation, and a real investment for future generations. This probe represents hope for millions of young Arabs looking for a better future,” said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.
This data will enable scientists to build the first truly holistic models of the Martian atmosphere. Such models may help the global Mars science community to unlock more mysteries of the Red Planet, such as why its atmosphere has been decaying into space to the point that it is now too thin for liquid water to exist on the surface.
Egypt and the United Arab Emirates were responsible for carrying out two series of air strikes in the past week on armed Islamist factions in Tripoli, Libya, U.S. officials said on Monday.
The officials said the two Arab countries used aircraft based in Egypt.
Earlier the New York Times reported that the two U.S. allies acted without consulting Washington, and that Egyptian officials told U.S. diplomats that Cairo was not involved. Egypt has denied conducting air strikes or other military operations in Libya.
Over the weekend, Tripoli residents said unidentified war planes attacked targets in the capital, as Libya is riven by the worst fighting since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. There were also strikes on Islamist-held positions last Monday.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) unmanned system developer Adcom used the 2013 Dubai Airshow to unveil the Global Yabhon, which at 10 tonnes is its largest unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Adcom has ambitions for the Global Yabhon to rival the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk high altitude long endurance (HALE) UAV, while industry sources note it may rival or complement the Boeing P-8 Poseidon manned multimission maritime patrol aircraft.
While the Global Yabhon was displayed as a full-size mockup at the show, Adcom Chief Designer Ali Al Dhaheri told IHS Jane's that a "fully equipped" and tested version would be ready for delivery in six months. Al Dhaheri said that development was possible because Adcom had the support of a customer.
In July 2013 Russian reports indicated that the Russian Ministry of Defence was interested in purchasing two United-40 UAVs, a platform revealed in 2011 that was Adcom's first high-stability tandem bi-wing UAV and which formed the basis for the larger Global Yabhon.
Both designs make extensive use of carbon fibre composites to reduce overall weight: the 26 m-wingspan Global Yabon has an empty weight of about 3.5 tons. Its maximum payload is 6.5 tons and has rear-wing and fuselage pylon attachments for up to18 weapons. Payloads include Adcom's small Namrod precision-guided and small turbojet-powered bomb, and up to four of the larger 240 km-range Yabhon Thunder cruise missile.
The Global Yabhon has a high altitude endurance of 40 hours and can be powered by two small turbofan or reciprocating engines. Al Dhaheri mentioned that a "GE Honda" turbofan was under consideration, possibly the 400 lb HF120 small turbofan.
Also on display for the first time at the Dubai Airshow was a maritime patrol/anti submarine UCAV version of the United 40, called "U-40, Navy-UAV." This UCAV version is equipped to carry 24 sonobuoys, and both it and the Global Yabhon were displayed with torpedo mockups.
Al Dhaheri added that customer demand had driven Adcom's emphasis on maritime UAVs at the Dubai show. He also noted that Adcom was developing an air-launched torpedo for the U-40 and Global Yabhon.
