Report: Israel To Sell Air Defense System to United Arab Emirates
By Alexander Cornwell and John Irish
DUBAI/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Israel has agreed to sell an advanced air defence system to the United Arab Emirates, two sources familiar with the matter said, in the first such known deal between them since they forged ties in 2020.
The deal reinforces how, for some Arab states, resolving the decades-long Israel-Palestinian conflict has now been overshadowed by national priorities, such as security and the economy.
Israel and the U.S.-allied UAE share an ultimate fear, that Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, an ambition Tehran denies.
Israel approved a UAE request in the middle of the summer and would supply the Gulf state with Rafael-made SPYDER mobile interceptors, two sources said, declining to provide further details due to the sensitive nature of the deal.
A third source said the UAE had acquired Israeli technology capable of combating drone attacks like those that struck Abu Dhabi earlier this year.
Israel’s defence ministry and SPYDER manufacturer Rafael declined to comment. The UAE’s foreign ministry did not comment.
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.
Asked if Israel was providing the UAE with air defence systems, parliament Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee Chairman Ram Ben-Barak told Israeli radio on Sept. 20 there was broad cooperation with the UAE, but declined further comment.
ATTACKS
The need to bolster the UAE’s air defence capabilities increased after a series of missile and drone strikes on the Gulf state in January and February. Most of the attacks were intercepted, but a strike killed three civilians in Abu Dhabi.
That strike rattled the leaders of the UAE, which has long boasted of its security and stability in a tumultuous region, foreign diplomats said. An under-construction terminal at Abu Dhabi airport was also hit, injuring civilian workers, sources briefed on the attacks said.
At least some missiles and drones flew at low-altitude to escape detection by the UAE’s U.S.-built Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot interceptors, the
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