The United Arab Emirates, together with European missile manufacturer MBDA, will begin production of a new set of smart weapons in 2030.
It is the first collaboration between the Middle Eastern nation and MBDA since the company’s new missile engineering center opened its doors in Abu Dhabi in June.
According to Patrice Hajjar, vice president of MBDA for the Middle East, the Smart Cruiser and Smart Glider missiles are in pre-production at the missile engineering center. The technologies are derived from existing MBDA systems but the intellectual property is owned by the government of the UAE.
Both smart weapons will be powered by MBDA’s Orchestrike, which enables communication between multiple missiles and unmanned systems. The systems also incorporate artificial intelligence to coordinate attacks.
“The Smart Glider and Cruiser are air-to-ground missiles and are dedicated for future combat with its swarming capabilities with AI-embedded capabilities for smart trajectory to deceive the air defense system and cloud combat to communicate with the control center and yet at the same time communicate with other effectors,” said Hajjar.
The MBDA missile engineering center was established in partnership with the UAE’s Tawazun Council. The company also plans to open a subsidiary to operate in the region, Hajjar shared.