UAE and SAAB: The United Arab Emirates Air Force announced Monday a $1.27 billion deal with Swedish defense giant Saab to purchase two surveillance planes and upgrade two others. This baseline Erieye features an electronic-warfare suite that includes electronic support, threat-warning and countermeasures dispensing subsystems, an identification friend or foe (IFF) subsystem, command-and-control (C2) capabilities, and a ground-based mission trainer.
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The deal came on the third day of the biennial Dubai Airshow, which has seen the event shift in focus from civil aviation to defense spending. The kingdom and its rival Iran are backing opposite sides of the war in Syria and support opposing political groups in Lebanon and Bahrain.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker, whose company placed orders worth $19 billion at the last Dubai Airshow for 54 Boeing 777s, says his airline did not need to make another major aircraft purchase after the 2013 buying spree.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Airbus and Vietnamese air carrier Vietjet announced a deal Tuesday for 30 new aircraft easily worth over $3 billion at list prices, the first major commercial deal at the Dubai Airshow.
He told Associated Press: “Buying airplanes is not buying groceries in a supermarket”.
This, said Boeing, is demonstrated by its strong order book and deliveries for the 787 and 777.Etihad Airways may emerge as the buyer of 10 777X jets listed anonymously on Boeing’s website, Gulf sources said, though an announcement may not happen at the show.
The short-haul aircraft will likely be used for flights to Gulf destinations in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The UAE’s Abu Dhabi-based carrier, Etihad, owns a 24 percent stake in Jet Airways. However, airlines and manufacturers typically negotiate discounts on such deals.
The contract covers “the maintenance, fix and overhaul (MRO) of the GE9X engines that will power the airline’s fleet… over a period of 12 years”, the carrier said in a statement, adding that it was Emirates’ largest contract of its kind.
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Airbus Chief Operating Officer for Customers John Leahy, left, and Bob Lange, Vice President of Marketing hold a press conference during the second day of the Dubai Airshow in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, November 9, 2015.
