DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The first Dubai Airshow since the coronavirus pandemic began has concluded. The event, which ran Nov. 14-18, was dominated by unmanned systems, particularly combat drones.

Russian company Kronshtadt presented its Orion drone with available armaments. The Emirate defense conglomerate Edge Group unveiled its QX-5 drone for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as the QX-6 cargo drone and the Reach-S drone for recon and transportation. And Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Electronics Company showcased the Bariq, a vertical-takeoff-and-landing UAV with swarm capabilities and ISR technology.

American firms Kaman Corporation and Fortem Technologies presented, respectively, a prototype of the logistics UAV Kargo and a drone meant to perform counter-UAV missions.

And the International Golden Group, based in the United Arab Emirates, hosted ISR drones developed at the China-Emirates Science and Technology Innovation Laboratory.

While the show is dedicated to both commercial and defense aircraft, this year’s edition seemed to lean heavily toward the former. Still, Defense News noticed a significant number of light-attack aircraft at the show: the UAE-based Calidus showcased the B-350 with full weaponry and the B-250 experimental aircraft; Embraer had its A-29 Super Tucano; and Textron brought the Beechcraft AT-6 Wolverine.

In a glitzy presentation featuring laser lights, Rostec showcased its Su-57 Checkmate, which the Russian company categorizes as a fifth-generation fighter jet. This was the first time the aircraft was on display outside of Russia.

For China’s part, it made a solid showing but with no major announcements. Notably, it brought along the L-15 supersonic trainer and its available weaponry. The state-owned defense firm China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation — better known as CATIC — displayed a range of anti-aircraft missiles, munitions and fighter jets.

More than 100 American companies had exhibits at the air show, including defense giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies, although they also did not make any major announcements. At the 2019 Dubai Airshow, the U.S. had an F-22 Raptor on static display. This year, it brought a prototype of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

“I think that the issue is that this is the first air show in two years coming after COVID, so everyone is kind of ramping up at different schedules. What we see here is a big U.S. commitment in terms of the companies and not just military platforms, but the U.S. military leadership that’s been here,” Eric Fanning, head of the Aerospace Industries Association, told Defense News.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro roamed the tarmac outside the booth of Brazilian aerospace company Embraer, inspecting the interior of a hulking C-390 Millennium transport aircraft, smiling and waving to crowds of reporters.

French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly surveyed the range of helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft at the Airbus pavilion, surrounded by French airmen in uniform.

Israel had a pavilion for the first time at the air show, as a direct application of the Abraham Accords. The state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries company showed off a range of manned and unmanned naval and aerial drones.

Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems displayed its Drone Dome, which detects and destroys drones with lasers. Emirati defense officials were seen asking about the range and weight of the anti-drone system at the Israeli pavilion. In all, six Israeli companies took part in the event.

Aya Batrawy and Isabel Debre with The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The memo builds on an existing strategic agreement between IAI and Edge announced in March that foresaw the companies working on counter-drone technology.

Thursday’s announcements came as Israel was participating in the Dubai Airshow for the first time, not long after diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE improved under the Abraham Accords signed in September 2020. IAI also participated for the first time at the UAE-based International Defence Exhibition and Conference in February.

They also comes in the wake of Israeli companies IAI and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems partnering with Emirati firm Group 42 in July 2020, an agreement that presaged the Abraham Accords.

“We are proud to join hands with EDGE in this endeavor, which is another step towards our growing efforts and partnership in the region,” Boaz Levy, CEO and president of IAI, said in a Nov. 18 statement about the USV work.

Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and managing director of Edge, also praised the agreement as an important milestone for the company, saying it will “forge collaborations with leading defence players such as IAI to strengthen our advanced technology portfolio.”

“Through this strategic alliance, we can ensure optimal autonomous operational solutions that minimize risk to human life, address key challenges for various industries, and enable a secure future for all. These developments will open many doors for us in local and global markets, military and commercial alike,” Al Bannai said in a statement.

Levy said the memo brings together the best technological know-how from each company by combining Edge Group subsidiary ADSB’s naval and commercial vessel expertise with IAI’s work on autonomous systems, robotics and artificial intelligence. “While ADSB will design the platform, integrate the control systems and payload, and develop the concept of operations (CONOPS), IAI will develop the autonomous control system and integrate various mission-payloads to the control system units according to the mission requirements,” the companies said in a statement.

The USV will include advanced sonars and imaging systems in a unified command-and-control system, the companies said. The memo foresees building 17-meter USVs for which the cost and quantity were not specified.

“The USV can operate either remotely, semi-autonomously, or autonomously, requiring no human intervention. Designed to suit all customers’ requirements, the bespoke vessel will offer unique capabilities in terms of modularity, payload, range, maneuverability, and performance,” the companies explained, adding that it would be able to perform border and littoral zone patrols as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Those missions could include mine detection and anti-submarine warfare, or serve as a platform for vertical-takeoff-and-landing units.

In August, leading up to the anniversary of the Abraham Accords, IAI Marketing Vice President Sharon Biton said that “the momentum of the Abraham Accords has opened the door for promoting cooperation in the regional ecosystem. Exhibitions, like CyberTech and the upcoming Dubai Airshow, provide IAI with an opportunity to meet local partners and vendors, and broaden the levels of co-production and co-development of systems.”

Other Israeli companies were also in the UAE this week. Elbit Systems announced it would establish a company in the country called Elbit Systems Emirates. Elbit also makes a USV, which it has combined with a UAV, per a July 2020 announcement.

“This agreement is testament to GAL’s continued growth and overarching goal of delivering solutions to meet complex MRO and supply chain requirements,” Khalid Al Breiki, president of Edge’s mission support division and managing director of GAL, said in a statement.

The arrangement allows UAE military customers to receive aviation MRO services under a cost-per-flight-hour model.

To fulfil this agreement, GAL signed another contract with a separate Edge subsidiary, AMMROC, to perform the maintenance at the latter’s Al Ain facility, which was first unveiled at the 2019 Dubai Airshow. The facility, which is a single square kilometer and is directly connected to the Al Ain International Airport, features a 36,500-square-meter hangar space with five hangars. The facility is able to support more than 35 different fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft types.

“Since its unveiling, Al Ain facility was expected to get major regional maintenance contracts from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the region, but it has not inked any major contract yet,” an industrial source with knowledge of the matter told Defense News on the condition of anonymity.

Under the subcontract, AMMROC will help perform aircraft, engine and component depot-level maintenance services.

In July 2020, Edge had entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the remaining 40 percent stake of AMMROC that was held by Lockheed Martin. The source denied any relation between the Lockheed deal and the latest contracts involving GAL and AMMROC.

The head of AMMROC, Hareb Al Dhaheri, said in a statement that the subcontract “goes a long way in adding value for our customers through reducing turnaround times and ensuring best-in-class, localised solutions.”

In an interview with the AMMROC executive prior to this year’s air show, Al Dhaheri told Defense News that ever since if delivered its first C-130H from the Al Ain facility in September 2020 following MRO services, the company has performed maintenance for at least six C-130 aircraft in its hangars.

“Other aircraft inducted for heavy checks include CN-235 and A330 MRTT. In addition to aircraft heavy checks, we also have been providing components and engine overhauls and repairs for multiple aircraft types, both fixed and rotary wing,” he said at the time.

“As Bell, we don’t always sell commercial products to the militaries, but [in] the time of COVID, there are countries that can’t necessarily afford purpose-built military platforms,” Steven Mathias, vice president of global military sales and strategy at the American company, told Defense News at the Dubai Airshow this week. “Hence, they started turning more to commercial platforms for military uses that can be very quickly adapted because of the technologies that can be integrated into them like sensors and weapons.”

He said militarizing a commercial platform is less expensive for customers than buying a war-ready variant — plus the commercial version is more easily exportable and lighter.

“Countries are turning into that more and more. Some of this is because they can’t afford a military platform and because the time needed for approval is decreased considerably,” Mathias said, noting this workaround is legal.

It’s quicker for a government defense agency to approve the sale of individual weapons systems that can outfit a commercial helicopter than for it to OK the sale of a military aircraft. That’s especially the case if the weapon system was previously exported to the customer.

At the air show, Emirati pilots stood beside the Bell 407 commercial helicopter on display, but it looked nothing like an aircraft for commercial use. It was armed and painted for battle.

The helo is already operational with the United Arab Emirates’ Joint Aviation Command. A static display of a mounted machine gun, rockets and missiles showed part of Bell’s HOSS armament platform, used to transform commercial aircraft into military platforms.

“This activity is all part of the changes to the U.S. arms sales structure in order to speed up the process,” said Theodore Karasik, a senior adviser at the U.S.-based geopolitical consultancy Gulf State Analytics. “There had been complaints about the process, which resulted in these changes for efficiency. [The] defense industry and clients seem to have worked out a better system for effective sales.”

He explained that with potential legal problems addressed, the process of selling a commercial aircraft that can later receive military kit becomes critically important for future operations.

“What we’re seeing now are the benefits of such a system for sustainability in the post-COVID era. This is a [Fourth Industrial Revolution] environment where rewiring for efficiency is an absolute requirement,” he told Defense News.

Mathias said the company is prepared to “militarize any of the commercial platforms.”

“If they [the customers] need a small attack aircraft, then arming Bell 407 is the choice. If they need twin-engine aircraft, the 429 is suitable. Or maybe customers just need to add sensors on the platform for ISR with the vertical lift capability,” he said. “Any weapon system that is on the AH-1 Zulu can be added to the commercial aircraft, like Hellfire, APKWS [laser-guidance kit, and] rockets.”

He said he expects that next year the company will see the process — which began in mid-2021 — gain speed to allow commercial platforms to be used for training, light attack, close air support, ISR and search and rescue missions.

Corrado Cok, a defense expert at Gulf State Analytics, told Defense News commercial-turned-military aircraft is a useful means by which customers can dodge political pressure.

“We live at a time of increasing parliamentary scrutiny and growing public criticism against arms sales,” he said. “This is especially the case for fighter jets, helicopters and precision-guided bombs, particularly when sold to Gulf countries which are involved to some degree in the war in Yemen.”

Two counter-drone systems showcased at the event reflect the United Arab Emirates’ interest in such technology: U.S.-based Fortem Technologies displayed its SkyDome, which is already operational in the Gulf country; and Emirati company International Golden Group showed off the Israeli system Skylock, which underwent testing in the UAE.

Fortem revealed at the show it had integrated a new drogue net to the SkyDome that allows the system to now neutralize UAV threats classified as Group 2 and Group 3. That means the system can now target drones that weigh less than 1,320 pounds, per a 2015 Pentagon report on unmanned aircraft systems. The SkyDome could previously only neutralize drones around 20 pounds or less.

Fortem CEO Timothy Bean claimed the counter-drone system is “100% autonomous, and the company is working on countering drone swarms.”

He added that Boeing, Toshiba and Mubadala are invested in the company, and that the UAE ordered the system.

SkyDome works via radar guidance and physical tracking. The system features TrueView radar systems, an electronic management system and a drone hunter — basically a UAV with two integrated boxes from which nets launch when a threat is detected.

“The drone performs missions against insurgent terrorist drones flying in and hitting bases. Smaller threats are caught with the net and sent to forensic examination to find out who built it and for what purposes, and how to defeat it in the future,” Gary Watson, the vice president for solutions at Fortem, told Defense News.

He added that larger drones are caught with the drogue net, which releases a parachute and brings down the threat.

“We have had a lot of U.S. and foreign government testing, and we’ve been extensively certified for operations by governments. We did a major test with two Japanese agencies [and with the] U.S. We just did a big demonstration in the Netherlands; they are testing it at the airport. And [there is] a lot of testing I can’t talk about as well. All of them successful, and greatly exceeds the requirements that government places us for kill,” Watson said.

What about Skylock?

Close by, the International Golden Group was showing off Skylock’s counter-drone system. Skylock is owned by Israeli company Avnon.

The platform can be used to protect critical assets as well as secure military and police facilities.

Emirati company officials told Defense News that the system was tested twice in the country and that each was a success. “The testing within UAE environment was conducted by UAE armed forces for radio frequency detection and jamming. These tests were successful, and the armed forces showed interest in the system,” an Emirati official said.

The officials confirmed that the UAE has not yet signed a contract for the system.

Edge is only 2 years old, but its CEO, Faisal Al Bannai, says the business as achieved several milestones, including in autonomous technology, electronic warfare and smart weapons. But one of the most critical is its share of the United Arab Emirates’ export market on both a regional and global level.

Defense News spoke with the executive at the air show about his company’s efforts in artificial intelligence and autonomy, collaboration on fifth-generation aircraft, use of 3D printing and additional export potential.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

What has Edge achieved in the areas of AI and autonomy?

The company was launched to be an advanced technology company in the defense industry. Since the launch, we’ve already introduced to the market over 20 products. We have in the road map of development over 40 products, so we’ve been bringing products to market at an extremely fast pace. We said we will focus on the company being a key player in autonomous systems, electronic warfare and smart weapons. Half of the stand here at the air show is for autonomous systems, while 95% of what you see on this stand didn’t exist two years ago. So we have a large presence now in autonomous capability.

On electronic warfare, we have a number of products that we announced in the last two years, and the same thing can be said for smart weapons. At least 60% of these didn’t exist before

Edge is exporting its products within the region as well as to Europe and beyond. Is this a direct consequence of the joint ventures you have with companies in those countries? What are your future export plans?

Regarding our international sales, I can’t disclose our customers, but we have already done over 20 international transactions across the following sectors: autonomy, electronic warfare, smart weapons and ammunition, and armored vehicles. These products have been sold to [customers in] Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the U.S. and Europe — particularly electronic warfare systems, SIGN4L intelligence systems to European countries. Some will be announced in the next few months. These transactions are completed and deliveries took place.

The delivered products are not a result of joint ventures; they are purely 100% UAE products. We are also partnering with foreign companies to jointly collaborate on building certain solutions for the UAE and the international market.

We are no longer a country that only buys defense products; we are developing in-house many products and jointly developing other products.

Edge is developing drones for different missions, from loitering munitions to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance UAVs to cargo drones. What is the company’s next step in autonomous technology development and 3D printing?

Artificial intelligence and machine learning is a part of every product today. At [the unmanned conference] UMEX 2022 next February, Edge subsidiary Adasi will unveil swarming drones — and swarms rely heavily on AI — completely designed and produced in-house.

The Rash 2 munition is [made using] 3D-printed [technology]. We are looking at every aspect now of our platforms and missiles to see how to bring 3D printing to them. Next year, there will be a number of products for which we are trying to push the envelope when it comes to 3D printing. So in 2022 and 2023, you will see a number of products 3D printed.

A body frame of a UAV is relatively easy, and this is what we are looking at developing to be 3D printed, but a missile goes through a different heat arrangement. Early success in this development is represented by kits like Rash — body frames for items that are not going through extreme [temperatures]. I think parts and components could be the entry point. We are experimenting with all of this.

Are you involved with the U.S. on the F-35 fighter jet or with Russia on the Checkmate aircraft?

We are collaborating with many countries. When it comes to fighters, first we wait for the UAE Ministry of Defence to decide what it is going to buy. There is no announcement now. Once that is clear, whether it’s for platform A or B, for sure Edge will play a part in the different subsystems, depending on what they are and what the client needs. It’s too early because a decision is not yet made.

Update us on high-energy laser cooperation and counter-drone technology work with MBDA and CILAS, and with Embraer through Edge subsidiary Halcon to integrate Emirati weapons on the Super Tucano plane.

As for the high-energy laser, we are in the testing phase. It is more a joint development program; Edge has engineers working on the high-powered laser to see how to further develop the system. There are many areas of collaboration there, such as the source of the laser and the form of the laser beam. The solution has a number of components on which both teams are collaborating.

The Halcon agreement on the Super Tucano shows how international players are confident about integrating UAE weapons onto their platforms. Embraer’s work on integrate our weapons made by Halcon onto the Super Tucano means all the aircraft type’s operators will have now access to UAE weapons.

“The ground-based air defense system has undergone verification, qualificatio,n and launched production in 2021, and is expected to be delivered by 2025 to the first contractor: France and Italy,” Eva Bruxmeier, Eurosam’s managing director, told reporters at the Dubai Airshow, which is taking place Nov. 14-18.

SAMP/T NG was designed to protect armed forces and sensitive civil or military sites. The system has a 150-kilometer interception range and a 350-kilometer detection range, and it features a 360-degree multifunctional radar fitted with a rotating active electronically scanned array antenna based on gallium nitride technology — either the Kronos Grand Mobile radar by Leonardo, which Italy chose, or the Ground Fire 300 radar by Thales, which France chose.

“The multi-function radar is able to encamp in less than 15 minutes with only 2 operators. It complies with high mobility requirements either on civilian road, rail infrastructure, in aircraft due to its 20 feet ISO container standard size,” according to a Eurosam statement.

The system can launch the upgraded Aster 30 Block 1 surface-to-air missile to counter threats at short and long ranges. An electromagnetic active seeker was added to the original version of the Aster weapon to increase its accuracy in all weather conditions.

The air defense system can have up to six vertical launchers, and imagery of the weapon from the manufacturer shows each launcher has eight cells. A team of four people is needed to manage the system’s sensors and networks.

Eurosam hopes to eventually export the SAMP/T NG to customers outside of Europe. “The licenses for the whole system are issued by France, since Eurosam is registered there,” Bruxmeier told Defense News.

Mira Resnick, a deputy U.S. assistant secretary of state in the Biden administration, also told the Associated Press at the Dubai Air Show that Gulf Arab partners are not looking to purchase weapons from Russia as a hedge over American concerns about human rights in the region.

A high-level Russian delegation met Tuesday with Abu Dhabi’s powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at the air show, which prominently featured Moscow’s competitor to the F-35, the Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate.

“The F-35 is already in this region, whether it’s Israelis flying the F-35, whether it’s American F-35,” Resnick said. “We would like the UAE to be able to operate the F-35 in a way that (they) can be our security partners and to deter threats, including from Iran.”

The proposed sale of 50 F-35s came at the end of President Donald Trump’s administration, rising out of a deal that saw the UAE recognize Israel. The $23 billion sale also included armed drones and other defense equipment sought by the Emirates, a hereditarily ruled federation of seven sheikhdoms also home to Dubai.

After President Joe Biden came into office, his new administration put the arms sale and others on hold. That in part came over criticism of the UAE and Saudi Arabia over their yearslong war in Yemen, which has sparked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and rages on today.

Only Israel flies the F-35 in the region, part of its so-called “qualitative edge” granted by America after Israel fought several wars against its Arab neighbors since its founding.

Resnick said she’d heard no concerns from Israel or other allies over the F-35 sale to the Emirates.

“We are fully committed to the F-35 and transferring the F-35, which is a game changer for the Emiratis,” she said. “We are working with them as we speak to make sure that there are clarifications to the various assurances that were made to the previous administration.”

Resnick declined to describe what clarifications America sought, nor what assurances the Emiratis had offered. The UAE similarly has not discussed sale terms.

Human rights concerns also have affected weapons sales to neighboring Saudi Arabia under the Biden administration. Biden himself pledged during his campaign to make Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a “pariah” after U.S. intelligence agencies said they believe he ordered the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

“We have worked with with Saudi Arabia to make sure that they are able to defend themselves. We know that there are complications in … this relationship and in relationships around the globe,” Resnick said. “But we continue to reinvest and make sure that they can invest in their own defense.”

Fragments of American munitions dropped by Saudi fighter jets also have been found at sites in Yemen where civilians died in the kingdom’s bombing raids. Asked about those attacks, Resnick said that the U.S. wants to make sure American arms are “used in ways that advance U.S. national security.” She said the U.S. continued to work with partners on trying to prevent civilian killings.

As visitors enter the Dubai Air Show, they first see local Emirati defense firm EDGE showing off a wide variety of its own munitions. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia in recent years have sought to improve their own arms industries in part to avoid seeing their armament supplies cut off over Western concerns.

Russia similarly has sought to make an impression at the show, flying a new attack helicopter and showing off the Checkmate fighter jet in a music-video-style presentation to journalists on the tarmac. But Resnick dismissed that effort, saying flatly that the Checkmate had “not in the least” ever come up in discussions with the Emiratis.

“We have not seen any strategic competitor be able to fill the kind of role that we play here in the region,” Resnick said.

Associated Press writer Malak Harb in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

Defense News caught up with Eric Fanning, whose group represents aerospace companies large and small, in the commercial market and in defense, to talk about how the recovery has gone and the path forward.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

The Defense Department offered financial support to the defense industry early on in the pandemic. Is the industry expecting payments at this elevated level to continue?

COVID-19 hit the civil aviation side hard because people stopped flying so the airliners stopped buying from the manufacturers. There are number of things that went into effect quickly to protect the supply chain of the industrial base. First is that it’s a shared supply chain so a lot of the companies of the supply chain have a commercial side and a defense side. Since defense was still operating and money was still flowing, the Department of Defense was still buying, that money kept running through the supply chain and helped those companies that were being hurt because their commercial side was going down. The big companies also leaned forward and purchased extra parts, extra inventory in order to keep the supply chain functioning and moving through COVID.

While we worked through some government programs, the jobs program, which is the government paying parts of the salary to some workers who aren’t working, the big companies filling their warehouses with inventory was a part of the strategy to make sure the supply chain stayed whole for the first year.

What were some major spare parts orders that came in from the services since early 2020? And more specifically, what spares did the Navy purchase for its aircraft fleet? Or did the services miss a big opportunity?

The department was a great partner in this. It moved very quickly to expedite payments to keep the industrial base whole. There is no efficient way to do that by targeting individual companies; you just want to keep the whole system working.

So they did lean forward to payments for the prime contractors and then the primes will move forward to push their supply chain. From what we hear from our members, large and small members, that worked very well. And yes, the big companies would like to keep that accelerated payment going because we are not out of COVID yet. We are seeing the impact of COVID even 18 months later. We don’t know when it will ever end, and we have the pending impacts of the vaccine mandate as well so the prime contractors are hoping that the department will continue to accelerate the payment structure.

It is also helpful that Congress continues to fund the Department of Defense at a stable level. The Biden administration came in at a relatively stable budget, which is good for industry to plan around, which is good to help support the commercial side of the house that is still struggling. Congress looks like it is actually going to pass that budget and has defeated attempts to cut the defense budget so that’s helpful as well. It’s not just the Pentagon is accelerating payments; it’s also that there is a good stable budget that industry can plan around.

Compared to earlier years, we noticed an increased number of Russian aircraft at this Dubai Airshow and a decrease in the number of U.S. aircraft. Why is this?

We still have more planes here. I think that the issue is that this is the first airshow in two years coming after COVID, so everyone is kind of ramping up at different schedules. What we see here is a big U.S. commitment in terms of the companies and not just military platforms, but the U.S. military leadership that’s been here. There is a pretty strong U.S. presence here — military and industry. As we continue to emerge from COVID, hopefully next year at the Farnborough show, you will see an increased presence there.

Russia brought its Checkmate aircraft, while the U.S. brought only a mockup of the F-35.

The military makes those decisions on which platforms they send to the airshow; we help coordinate that and usually decisions are not made until last minute. I don’t think that the platforms you see here relate directly to the commitment of the United States to the Middle East or to the United Arab Emirates.

How do you see the Middle East market potential for defense after the pandemic?

It is a very important market. The UAE in particular are strong allies here, and it’s in everyone’s interest when we are training with, fighting with shared interoperable platforms. So I think that the presence we see here — industry, military, and platforms — is indicative of this market for the United States.