United Arab Emirates Steps Up Arms Deals With US
In recent months, the United Arab Emirates has taken the purchase of the latest US military gear to the next level, while throwing open its ports and airbases to American warships and fighter wings. Richard Sisk on the rush to defend against the threat of Iran.
In the Gulf, the money has always been there for the best and priciest US weaponry, and for easy access to regional bases for the American military.
But in recent months, the United Arab Emirates has taken the buying and basing spree to another level, using the Iranian threat as a catalyst. In the process, the UAE has racked up a number of “firsts” in arms deals and mutual defense arrangements with the United States.
The Emirates leadership is now haggling with Boeing Bell and the US Marine Corps over the unit price on a deal to become the first foreign purchaser of the futuristic, and still controversial, V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. The US has already signed off on the first sale of Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system of mobile launchers for shooting down incoming short-to-intermediate range missiles.
The UAE also recently agreed to the first foreign basing of the US Air Force’s problem-plagued F-22 Raptor fighters, along with a squadron of US Air National Guard F-15 Eagle fighters.
