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Abu Dhabi (AFP) Feb 22, 2011 A Lockheed Martin official said on Tuesday that he expects an agreement to be concluded this spring for the United Arab Emirates to buy an anti-ballistic missile system reputedly worth about $7 billion. "I think ... sometime this spring, we'll get some positive news that the two governments have reached an agreement" on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, said Dennis Cavin, Lockheed Martin vice president for international air and missile defence. "The discussions started way back in 2007 when the Emirati government expressed interest in an integrated air and missile defence system," he said at a defence exposition in Abu Dhabi. The missile defence consists of "the Patriot PAC-3 system, the THAAD system and then the integration" of the two. "It's a layered defence system," said Thomas McGrath, Lockheed Martin vice president and THAAD programme manager, with Patriot missiles covering lower altitudes while THAAD covers higher ones. Patriot missiles can also target cruise missiles and aircraft, while THAAD exclusively targets ballistic missiles, McGrath said. "The two systems are integrated so that THAAD's feeding data to Patriot all along the surveillance aspects all the way through the fire control -- they exchange data," Cavin said. Manufacturers from around the world are racing to seal contracts with Gulf states, fearful of Iran and with their spending power buoyed by high oil prices. The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries -- Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait -- along with Jordan are set to spend $68 billion (49.6 billion euros) on defence in 2011, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan. Their spending is expected to reach nearly $80 billion in 2015.
earlier related report Major General Obaid al-Ketbi announced 14 deals totalling four billion dirhams at a defence exposition in Abu Dhabi. The largest deal announced was one for 2.018 billion dirhams ($550 million) with Emiraje Systems to implement a command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) system. Other deals included one for 423 million dirhams ($115.2 million) with Nexter Systems to provide technical support for Leclerc tanks, and another for 112.4 million dirhams ($30.6 million) with Dassault Aviation to update Mirage 2000 fighter jets. Manufacturers from around the world are racing to seal contracts with Gulf states, fearful of Iran and with their spending power buoyed by high oil prices. The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries -- Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait -- along with Jordan are set to spend $68 billion (49.6 billion euros) on defence in 2011, according to research firm Frost and Sullivan. Their spending is expected to reach nearly $80 billion in 2015. The deals come as several Arab leaders are battling widespread revolts against their rules that have already Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and Tunisian president Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.
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Lockheed Martin Receives $34.5 Million Contract For Paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb KitsArchbald, PA (SPX) Feb 21, 2011 Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $34.5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for production of paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) GBU-12 kits. The majority share contract includes deliveries to both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy and is scheduled to begin the second quarter of 2011. Paveway II Plus LGB guidance kits significantly improve weapon accuracy and reduce risk to U.S. ... read more |
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