Tel Aviv: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is expected to enhance its defence acquisitions from Israeli defence companies, following the success of some Israeli air defence system in the recent 12 days war with Iran.
Since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, the UAE has taken significant steps to acquire all types of Israel defence systems. The sources pointed out that currently the negotiations focus mainly on creating joint ventures between UAE and Israel defence companies.
In January 2025, the UAE’s state-owned defence conglomerate EDGE, invested US $10 million in Israeli company ThirdEye Systems, a company specialising in AI based electro optical systems for the detection of drones. Additionally, EDGE committed another US $12 million to create a joint venture that will market these systems .
In 2021, EDGE partnered with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to jointly develop drone detection systems and unmanned surface vehicles.
There have also been reports of talks or interest regarding Israeli air defence systems such as Spyder developed by Rafael.
Israeli defence firms, including IAI and Elbit Systems, have established a presence in the UAE, and Israeli companies are increasingly visible at UAE defence expos, signaling ongoing and deepening defence ties.
Officials from the UAE have visited Israel after the Israeli attack on the Iranian nuclear sites and were briefed about the performance of the Israeli air defence systems.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
