UAE eyes US$3.5 billion deal for South Korean missiles as Seoul pushes defence exports
- The planned sale of South Korea’s M-SAM medium-range air defence missile system is reportedly in ‘advanced stages of negotiations’
- The deal comes as Seoul seeks to expand the market for its defence systems beyond a domestic need to counter threats from the nuclear-armed North Korea
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has said it plans to purchase South Korean-made mid-range surface-to-air missiles in a deal worth US$3.5 billion, a major boon to the East Asian country’s defence exports.
The UAE’s Ministry of Defence on Tuesday tweeted that it planned to acquire the missile, known as M-SAM, which it said would “constitute a qualitative addition to the capabilities of the national air defence”.
Gulf Today quoted Tariq Abdul Rahim Al Hosani, CEO of the Tawazun Economic Council, as saying that the UAE had reached “very advanced stages in negotiations with the Korean side and are close to concluding a final agreement” to acquire the Korean Air Defence System (MSAM)”.
“The two sides agreed to develop the system according to the operational requirements of the Air Force and Air Defence of the UAE,” he said, according to the newspaper.
The M-SAM system is considered one of the latest medium-range air defence missile systems and one of the most advanced in the world, it said.
Tawazun Economic Council is currently managing the procurement and contracts of the UAE Ministry of Defence.
