UAE signed $74 million contract for fighting vehicles with Russian

The UAE signed a contract with Russian state arms exporting agency, Rosoboronexport, for the modernization of 135 of the UAE armed forces' BMP-3 armored infantry fighting vehicles. The $74 million contract, announced on February 24, will be the second such modernization of the Emirati BMP-3s. The first contract to upgrade these vehicles was signed in 2000 and included the fitting of reactive armor panels on 400 of the 415 vehicles purchased by the UAE. The UAE BMP-3 fleet was purchased in the early 1990s and delivered by Kurganmashzavod between 1992 and 1997.