Israeli companies make their first appearance

DUBAI AIRSHOW NEWS: Israeli companies make their first appearance at the show

Elbit Systems photo

Dubai, United Arab Emirates –More than a year after the signing of the peace accords, several Israeli defense companies visited the Dubai Airshow to present their products to Emirati customers.

The United Arab Emirates signed the Abrahamic Accord peace accord with Israel last summer, and the two countries are open for business, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems regional director Rafi Etan said on the sidelines of the airshow from Dubai on November 16.

“Hospitality, flexibility – everyone makes us feel right at home, really,” he said when asked about the company’s reception at the show. “I don’t speak for myself. I speak for the Israeli industry. I think we all feel at home at this point. “

Prior to the show, Elbit Systems announced the creation of Elbit Systems Emirates. Other Israeli companies such as Sinbad joined together at the show to create an Israeli pavilion.

Ran Kril, executive vice president of international marketing and business development for Elbit, said in a statement that “The Abraham Accords provide a solid foundation for business collaborations in the region. The United Arab Emirates and other countries in the region are important new markets for Elbit Systems. We believe our broad portfolio of solutions positions us well to meet the needs and opportunities in this region. “

Etan de Rafael said a regional issue his company could help address is the surge in drone attacks. The technology behind customizable drones has gotten cheaper, causing the proliferation of hard-to-kill aerial vehicles in countries around the world. Rafael’s counter-UAS technology could meet the needs of local customers, he added.

Rafael’s drone dome can detect targets as small as an eighth of a square foot and as far as 2 miles away. To destroy the drones, the system uses a laser, which can operate in “highly contested environments” using an advanced directional antenna, according to the company’s website.

“What the end user is watching here in the United Arab Emirates is similar to the challenges we have in Israel,” Etan said.

He recognized the difficulty of entering a new market and said that it is necessary to understand and learn its nuances.

“By the way, there is a learning curve for both parties – business, technology, regulation, because it’s new at the end of the day,” he said.

Coming to events like the Dubai Airshow is the first step in moving up this learning curve, he said. The company attempted to attend the international defense exhibition and conference in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, but “it didn’t work,” he said.

“The informal dialogue between industry and end users really allows us to better understand the market on the one hand and for them to understand [our] technologies and capabilities on the other hand, ”he said.

He highlighted the success Rafael has had in countries around the world. For example, Lockheed Martin and Rafael signed an agreement to sell one of their autonomous air-to-ground weapon systems to the United States earlier this month.

“Both sides are eager to really close this gap in a relationship that has been political, but now I think we’re on the safe side,” Etan said.

While Rafael has local partnerships around the world, Etan noted that relations with the UAE government may need to tighten before localization efforts in the country begin. He said the company believed the UAE was more interested in “white collar” collaboration such as artificial intelligence.

“We need to be a little more comfortable and knowledgeable about the market to understand the capabilities on the one hand, and what we can deliver on the other hand, but certainly look at the localization in different aspects,” he said. -he declares.

The subjects: Global defense market