Israel to sell air defence system to UAE, sources say

Israel has agreed to sell its Spyder air defence system to the United Arab Emirates, marking the first time such a state-owned air defense system is sold to a Gulf country.

The Jerusalem Post reports citing Reuters that Israel approved a UAE request in the middle of the summer. It was not immediately clear how many interceptors, which are fitted to vehicles and can defend against short to long-range threats, would be supplied, or if any had so far been shipped.

The SPYDER (Surface-to-air PYthon and DERby), is developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and was on display at Dubai’s IDEX 2021 late last year.

The mobile system incorporates Rafael’s advanced Python-5 and I-Derby missiles to provide short, medium, and long-range protection against a range of threats including attack aircraft, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, stand-off weapons, and more.

The system, which uses electro-optical observation payload and wireless data link communication, can engage multiple threats simultaneously up to 80 kilometers away in all weather conditions.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates normalised relations in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords and ties have flourished since. Last week UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed was in Israel and met with Defense Minister Benny Gantz, President Isaac Herzog, and Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

Israeli defense officials have held some 150 meetings with their counterparts in the region and have signed more than $3 billion worth of deals since the signing of the Accords in order to increase its military-to-military ties and sign defence deals.

At least eight C-17 Globemaster heavy transport aircraft belonging to the United Arab Emirates Air Force landed in Israel in April.

The Boeing C-17A Globemaster III is a four-engine heavy transport aircraft that can accommodate huge payloads of 164,900 pounds, fly 2,400 nautical miles and land on runways in 3,000 feet or less on a small airfield.

All the aircraft landed at Israel Air Force’s Nevatim airbase in southern Israel and took off about an hour after landing. While it’s unclear why the heavy transport aircraft were in Israel, it is believed that the aircraft likely were transporting equipment related to defense contracts signed between the two countries.