The new Viper Shield electronic warfare suite, meant to help foreign F-16 customers fend off modern EW threats, will be ready for production in late 2025, L3Harris told Breaking Defense in Dubai.
The lion's share of the total dollar figure is due to a $1.1 billion (4.1 billion AED) arrangement EDGE signed with the UAE Ministry of Defense for aircraft munitions.
"We have seen a lot of interest in military trainers... since every country in the region is looking to modernize their military trainers," Bell's Patrick Moulay told Breaking Defense.
"Having high quality local capabilities supported by the OEM [original equipment manufacturer], will help reduce lead times significantly and translate into better service and availability for the UAE," a Sikorksy official said.
David Alexander, president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, told Breaking Defense several options could power the company's Gambit drone offering, and that the Air Force has been more forthcoming with cost expectations behind closed doors.
Calidus CEO Khalifa Alblooshi told Breaking Defense in an exclusive interview the company hopes to start delivering the turboprop aircraft in mid-2026.
The company has incurred some $1.3 billion in charges on the delayed program, but a senior official at the Dubai Airshow sees much clearer skies ahead.
Though mostly absent from the official exhibitor list, Russian firms are out in force in Dubai, including a flyover by a squad of Russian fighter jets.
An MBDA official here tells Breaking Defense how the company sees the missiles swarming into combat, and how MBDA is eyeing a new subsidiary in the UAE.
Three different munitions — the Mk81, Mk82 and longer-range Mk83 guided bombs made by EDGE subsidiary Al Tariq — will all be integrated on the fourth generation plane in due course, Al Tariq CEO Theunis Botha told Breaking Defense.
Walid Abukhaled, CEO of Saudi Arabia Military Industries, told Breaking Defense the conglomerate is "investing in developing our own products across all domains, but the key ones now are really AI and command and control systems."
The first four lots of jets — almost half the total expected buy — will not come with conformal fuel tanks, a key part of the operational profile for what the service hopes will be its missile truck going forward.
"We're always looking at making investments in autonomous capabilities, precision guided munitions and electronic warfare," Miles Chambers, Edge Group vice president of international business, told Breaking Defense.
General Atomics’ commitments to the UAE go beyond the long-term support it’s planning for additional aircraft systems.
"Boeing customers around the world are moving to Performance Based Logistics solutions because PBL has the potential to lower flying hour costs, increase aircraft availability, and maximize the use of local industry," company exec Rick Lemaster told Breaking Defense.