There are gaps in the defences of GCC countries, and the big boys from the air defence missile industry are in town to try to show how to close them.
The third Middle East Missile and Air Defense Symposium (Memad) opens today at the Armed Forces Officers Club in Abu Dhabi, against a background of increasing tension in the region, and according to the agenda there will be a "high-level discussion on identifying and plugging capability gaps, and working towards a standardised framework for regionally integrated air and missile defence."
"There are threats some countries here do not have a response to, especially in the area of weapons of mass destruction," said Orville Prins, the vice president of business development at Lockheed Martin, a US defence giant and one of the world's leading air defence missile manufacturers.
Memad 2012, held under the auspices of the UAE Armed Forces has gathered decision makers from around the GCC as well as its allies in North America and Western Europe to discuss "the critical challenges of emergent missile threats", and to evaluate, "state-of-the-art missile defence systems against the full spectrum of air and missile threats".
"In a tactical sense, the threats are three fold", said Florent Duleux, the vice president of regional sales for MBDA, a French missile systems company who is also in Abu Dhabi for the symposium.
"Small boats, low-profile surface craft, armed with who knows what. To counter them you need small systems with fast reaction. Cruise-type missiles, which are spread across the region, are low flying, supersonic, and need equally fast, accurate systems to track and intercept. And thirdly, ballistic missiles, which require even more sophisticated counter-measures."
While the two-day symposium is not an arms bazaar for the missile makers, both Lockheed Martin and MBDA have systems to sell.
MBDA's inventory includes its Aster 30 system designed to meet any air threat, including Cruise and ballistic missiles, intercepting at speeds of up to Mach 4.5, and is capable of being ground or ship launched. It is already in use by several Nato countries and Saudi Arabia.
"Our systems are already used by all the GCC countries," said Mr Duleux. "This is a very important region for us, and accounts for between 25 and 30 per cent of our turnover."
"We already have €11 billion [Dh52.83bn] worth of orders in the pipeline and we see the future market being worth €3bn to €5bn over the next five years."
The Emirates' armed forces have already contracted Lockheed Martin for it's Patriot Pac 3 missile and in December the company signed a US$1.96 billion (Dh7.19bn) contract to deliver to the UAE its Thaad (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) system - its first foreign military sale.
The Pac 3 can hit targets at an altitude of up to 24,200 metres and is capable of intercept speeds of Mach 5. Thaad missiles have an estimated range of 200km, and can reach an altitude of 150km. Both it and the Pac 3 are equipped with "kinetic kill" technology, which means the missile destroys the target by colliding with it at sufficient velocity and accuracy that it completely destroys it.
Lockheed Martin regards both missiles as part of an integrated command and control air defence system it has developed for evaluating threats and layering defence measures to provide interception of targets from space to close in.
Customers however, have to be approved by the US government.
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JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Under-21 European Championship Final
Germany 1 Spain 0
Weiser (40')
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
ENGLAND WORLD CUP SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
UAE%20SQUAD
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
How Beautiful this world is!
Company%20Profile
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
Company%20Profile
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Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
The biog
Favourite pet: cats. She has two: Eva and Bito
Favourite city: Cape Town, South Africa
Hobby: Running. "I like to think I’m artsy but I’m not".
Favourite move: Romantic comedies, specifically Return to me. "I cry every time".
Favourite spot in Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat beach
New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
New Zealand
Penalties: Barrett (7)
British & Irish Lions
Tries: Faletau, Murray
Penalties: Farrell (4)
Conversions: Farrell
Contracted list
Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Matt Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
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Match info:
Manchester City 2
Sterling (8'), Walker (52')
Newcastle United 1
Yedlin (30')
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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New schools in Dubai
The specs: 2017 Porsche 718 Cayman
Price, base / as tested Dh222,500 / Dh296,870
Engine 2.0L, flat four-cylinder
Transmission Seven-speed PDK
Power 300hp @ 6,500rpm
Torque 380hp @ 1,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.9L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Test squad: Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan(wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah
Twenty20 squad: Babar Azam (captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Shadab Khan, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars