OREANDA-NEWS The UAE is showing interest in the entire range of Russian weapons, the parties are consulting on both new supplies and industrial cooperation, Dmitry Shugaev, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) of Russia, told reporters on Monday.

"The United Arab Emirates is interested in almost the entire range of Russian military products. Bilateral consultations are held on a regular basis, the results of which are premature to talk about at this stage," he said during the Dubai Airshow 2023 International Airshow.

Shugaev called the Emirates a long-term reliable partner of Russia in the field of military-technical cooperation. The current stage of military-technical cooperation with the UAE, according to him, is characterized by an emphasis on the "cooperative component". "Both the implementation of existing contracts and promising areas of cooperation are being discussed with partners," Shugaev said.

Military-technical cooperation between Russia and the UAE has been developing for the last 30 years. Under contracts signed in 1994-1995, the Emirates received a significant number of BMP-3 and armored recovery vehicles. In August 2000, the UAE signed a contract with the Tula Instrument Design Bureau for the development and supply of the Pantsir-1 anti-aircraft gun and missile system. In November 2006, Russia and the UAE signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation, which created a legal framework in the relations of the two states in this area.

Rosoboronexport is a permanent participant of the international exhibition of arms and military equipment IDEX, which is held in Abu Dhabi, as well as the International Aviation and Space Exhibition Dubai Airshow.

On the sidelines of the IDEX-2017 arms exhibition, Russia and the UAE agreed to develop a joint project of a fifth-generation light fighter based on the MiG-29. According to Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov, the machine should be created within the next seven to eight years. In addition, Russia and the UAE signed a memorandum of intent to purchase a batch of Su-35 fighters. Currently, these agreements are at the consultation stage.

During the IDEX-2021 international arms exhibition, Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheev said that issues of equipping Emirati combat vehicles, including Nimr infantry fighting vehicles, with Russian control systems, combat modules and high-precision complexes are being discussed.