The US helicopter manufacturer Bell Helicopter expects to clinch a deal with the UAE military this year as it expands its military business outside the home ground.
The Texas-based company that has as its major client the US government, has supplied Bell 412 and Bell 212 models to Abu Dhabi Aviation, which uses 44 of its helicopters.
“We have a lot of interest in the [Arabian] Gulf and we expect it to be a good year this year for the military division of our business,” said Douglas Wolfe, the director for the Middle East and North Africa region for global military business development at Bell Helicopter, ahead of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference that starts in the capital on Sunday. “The low oil prices did not affect the military business as we did not see a slowdown.”
Local manufacturing of some parts of Bell helicopters could be a possibility in the future if it gets a deal with the UAE, Mr Wolfe said.
The strong dollar is not expected to affect regional procurements “because of the importance of the equipment”, he said.
UAE military spending, which slowed down in the past couple of years, is expected to recover. This year, the country’s defence budget is expected to be US$19.76 billion, according to Jane’s Defence Budgets, up from an estimated $18.66bn last year and $18.16bn in 2015. The UAE does not publish its defence budget.
Saudi and Omani military spending is likely to decrease this year. The Saudi military budget is expected at 190.8bn Saudi riyals (Dh186.87bn) this year, compared with 205bn riyals last year.
Oman will reduce its security spending to 3.3bn Omani rials (Dh31.46bn) this year from 3.5bn rials last year, according to Jane’s.
Bell Helicopter is developing a V-280 model, which the manufacturer expects to compete with Boeing’s Apache and Chinook and Sikorsky Aircraft’s Black Hawk helicopters. Under development for the US army, the V-280 is expected to make its first flight this year.
About 64 per cent of Bell Helicopter’s turnover comes from sales to the US government but globally it started supplying foreign armies in 2015. So far it has sold 12 advanced attack AZ-1H choppers to Pakistan and 10 V-22s to Japan.
In March last year, it won a US$461 million contract to supply the US marine corps with 24 new utility and attack helicopters, including 12 UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters and 16 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters.
Bell Helicopter revenues were down $148m year-on-year to $887m in the three months ending December 31, but profit was up $2m to $126m. Its parent company textron manufactures Cessna aircraft.
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Idex 2017
■ Mena defence spending to rise this year as conflicts create demand for arms
■ UAE will count on technologies to keep terror threats at bay
■ South African defence firm targets region with military variant of light aircraft
■ Preparation for Idex under way in Abu Dhabi - in pictures
__________________________________
ssahoo@thenational.ae
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Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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12%20restaurants%20opening%20at%20the%20hotel%20this%20month
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
More on animal trafficking
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh