MBDA Opens Facility in U.A.E. to Produce Missiles for Rafale Jets

European missile maker MBDA has set up an engineering center in the U.A.E. to develop and produce missiles for the French Rafale fighter in cooperation with the Tawazun Economic Council.

The two parties agreed during IDEX-2021 international exhibition held in Abu Dhabi to jointly develop SmartGlider weapon systems in the U.A.E. A joint team of engineers from both sides will be in charge of development studies and will operate from MBDA’s first regional Missile Engineering Centre in the U.A.E., the companies said back then.

The new SmartGlider family of guided weapons is optimized to counter anti-access strategies and other emerging battlespace threat and designed to counter new networked short- and medium range surface-to-air threats, and moving/relocatable targets or hardened fixed targets.

At this year’s edition of the IDEX that concluded recently, MBDA won Dh1.26 billion to supply MICA missiles to the Emirati military.

Patrice Hajjar, Vice President of Sales Development for the Middle East at MBDA, was quoted as saying by reports that the newly-established center will facilitate the design, development, production and delivery of missiles to the U.A.E. The official said the company will make air-to-air missiles such as the Meteor and MICA for Emirati Rafale fighters.