The Abu Dhabi International Defense Exhibition and Conference, or IDEX, saw the signing of major deals between weapons-developing companies and states in the region.
On Tuesday, the Emirates government signed nearly $3 billion in deals at the show with Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. to buy military transport aircraft, the official news agency WAM reported.
The Emirates' military has committed to buying four C-17 aircraft from Chicago-based Boeing and 12 C-130 aircraft from Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed, said Obaid Ketbi, chairman of IDEX, who said it was part of a plan "to modernize and develop the country's air transport fleet."
The efforts in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries to acquire nuclear technology was never far from the minds of participants.
The UAE also signed up to acquire a high-altitude air defense system to stave off concerns about possible missile attacks from Iran, he said in a telephone interview.
Idiocy.
The organizers of IDEX announced that the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates -- are expected to spend about $59 billion on defense this year.
Idiocy.
Raytheon, one of the biggest U.S. defense contractors, announced earlier at the exhibition that it had sold 224 advanced missiles to the UAE for its F-16 warplanes. The Emirates government has agreed with Washington on a letter of offer and acceptance for the purchase of Raytheon's advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles. The deal was described as "sizable" by company officials.
Idiocy.
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