Sub-contractors in $189m deal named

Harris vice-president says he expects the Middle East to continue to be a “strong market” for the company

American defence contractor Harris has provided details to Gulf News on their $189 million (Dh693.63 million) contract to provide an integrated battle management system to the UAE Armed Forces, announced yesterday at Idex.

In its biggest deal to date in the UAE, Harris will subcontract work to Systematic, utilising their SitaWare Headquarters and SitaWare Frontline software “to provide fully integrated command and control capabilities across multiple land force echelons,” the company said in the statement.

“The software’s open architecture is enabling the UAE Armed Forces to develop new capabilities and customise their system using local expertise,” the statement added.

In addition to Systematic, Harris will also contract work to the International Golden Group, a UAE-based company, for design and integration activities related to the Nexter Leclerc main battle tank.

Fellow Emirati outfit Al Taif will be responsible for the installation of equipment in vehicles, whilst DRS will provide an advanced voice, data, video and vehicle networking solution.

Finally, DRS and SAAB will provide electronic components for the vehicles, Harris said.

“This has been a very good week for us. This deal is the largest one we’ve ever done with the UAE,” Christopher Tucker, Vice President of International Business Development, said in an interview with Gulf News yesterday morning, confirming all of the details in the statement.

Tucker noted that growing Harris’ business in the Middle East was a key priority, stating “the Middle East has traditionally been a strong market for Harris.”