UAE sends eight heavy-lift transport planes on Israel visit
At least eight C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft belonging to the United Arab Emirates Air Force have landed in Israel over the past two weeks.
The Boeing C-17A Globemaster III is a four-engine, heavy transport aircraft that can accommodate huge payloads of almost 75 tons over distances of up to 4,400 kilometers.
All the aircraft landed at Israel Air Force’s Nevatim airbase in the South and took off about an hour after landing.
No details for the flights have been disclosed but it is believed that they may have been transporting equipment related to defense contracts signed between the two countries.
Earlier in April, Sibat, the military exports unit of the Defense Ministry, said military exports by Israel brought in $11.2 billion last year, with 7% of that to Arab countries who have signed the Abraham Accords.
The UAE is part of a Saudi-led military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and in recent months has been attacked by them several times with missiles and drones.
Israel has offered to provide support to the UAE against such attacks. Following a missile and drone attack in January that killed three people in Abu Dhabi, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he had “ordered the Israeli security establishment to provide the UAE with any assistance” that could help to protect against more attacks in the future.
Both Israel and the UAE have worked together covertly for years against Iran’s hegemony and, according to foreign reports, behind closed doors they have improved their intelligence-sharing and military relations in order to be prepared for Iranian threats.
Following the normalization agreement signed as part of the Abraham Accords, the UAE’s Minister of State for Defense Affairs Mohammed al-Bawardi and Defense Minister Benny Gantz agreed to establish security ties between the two countries.
In January, Elbit Systems’ subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates was awarded a contract to supply airborne defense systems for the UAE Air Force’s tanker aircraft.
The contract, worth approximately $53 million, will see Elbit Systems Emirates supply Direct Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) and airborne Electronic Warfare (EW) systems for the UAE’s Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft.
The Head of SIBAT, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yair Kulas, said recently that the ministry is working with the security industries in Israel to ensure the continued increase in defense cooperation with Arab countries that have normalized ties with the Jewish state.
“Looking ahead, shifting global priorities and partnerships such as the Abraham Accords create high demand for Israel’s cutting-edge technological systems,” Kulas said, adding that the number of contracts signed with Arab countries will continue to increase and will likely reach the double digits.
“If we look realistically at the coming years, there is great market potential and, with cautious assessment, we expect to reach double-digits in the countries who signed the Abraham Accord agreements,” Kulas added.