Amid the continuing intense military conflict in Gaza, Israeli aerospace and defense companies projected a minimal presence at this year’s Dubai Airshow following its historic debut at the event in 2021. As the event opened on Monday morning, only local representatives from Elbit Systems and Rafael occupied their stands in the exhibit hall while the Israel Aerospace Industries exhibit remained roped off.
Still, company representatives indicated that they can arrange meetings with senior leaders. Also among the Israeli contingent, government-owned rocket propulsion group Tomer and Flyvercity, an air traffic management and uncrewed air vehicles specialist, made the trip to Dubai.
Last week, several Israeli industry executives, speaking with AIN on condition of anonymity, indicated they want to build on the prospects for partnerships in the Gulf region made possible by the September 2020 Abraham Accords agreement brokered by the U.S. Trump Administration between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain. The first Israeli commercial airline flight landing in Abu Dhabi marked the occasion.
Morocco and Sudan followed suit, signing on to the agreement in December 2020 and January 2021, respectively, but for now, prospects for a normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia appear indefinitely on hold.
In the first instance, two of the biggest winners from the Abraham Accords were the U.S. defense industry and the UAE armed forces. The agreement paved the way for a $23 billion arms export deal. The initial proposed sale included 50 or more F-35A fighters, 18 General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper drones, and an estimated $10 billion in advanced weaponry.
In response to inquiries last week about the presence of Israeli firms at this year’s Dubai, company representatives emphasized that they are soldiering on building relationships with the UAE. Nonetheless, the conflict in Gaza, and the prospect of hostilities widening to include Iran-backed Hezbollah forces based in Lebanon, has led to a scaled-back presence at the show this week.
“The number of company personnel that are actually Israeli citizens may be less than two years ago,” said one marketing executive from an exhibiting company. “But any reduced presence of Israeli-based specialists is in no way an indication of the relationship with the UAE being downgraded. The only reason would be based strictly on security considerations, or the complications associated with commercial flights in and out of Israel.”
Local Presence in the UAE
Over the past three years, some Israeli companies have established a presence in the UAE, including local staff and colleagues. “Any number of UAE nationals now employed and performing engineering work for our companies,” said the marketing executive. “Even if none of the personnel normally based in Israel are participating in Dubai there will still be a full contingent of our own local, UAE employees.”
The local employees are generally employed by UAE-registered subsidiaries of the parent company in Israel. Furthermore, the work they carry out in the UAE largely happens under contract with those UAE-registered entities.
For instance, in February 2023, IAI announced it would develop an unmanned surface vessel (USV) in conjunction with the UAE defense company Edge. What is essentially a water-borne version of a drone will come equipped with advanced sensors and imaging systems and can be employed for surveillance, reconnaissance, and detecting mines. IAI also has indicated plans to work with the UAE on air defense projects.
In January, Elbit Systems Emirates Limited won a $53 million contract to supply direct infrared countermeasures and airborne electronic warfare systems for the Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport aircraft of the UAE Air Force. This work is to be completed over a five-year period.
Rafael partly sponsored the Air Chiefs’ Conference held on Sunday. Notably, the agenda completely avoided addressing the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.