MBDA opens Missile Engineering Centre in Abu Dhabi
Image courtesy MBDA
The Missile Engineering Centre was officially inaugurated on Tuesday 6th 2023, in the presence of His Excellency Tareq Al Hosani, Secretary General of Tawazun Council, Son Excellence M. Nicolas Niemtchinow, Ambassador of France to the UAE and M. Eric Béranger, Chief Executive Officer of MBDA.
The aim of the Missile Engineering Centre is to strengthen the long-term partnership between the UAE and MBDA and to establish a bedrock for joint development of missile systems.
This cooperation has the ultimate objective of offering missile systems at the right level of performance while leveraging and reinforcing the sovereign capabilities of the UAE defense industry through significant local content.
The Missile Engineering Center in the UAE is the first of its kind for MBDA outside Europe. It is operational with a joint team of engineers from Tawazun Technology Innovation and MBDA working on the next generation of the Smart Weapons family.
HE Tareq Al Hosani, Secretary General of Tawazun Council said: "I am delighted to witness the official inauguration of the Missile Engineering Center in the UAE, which marks a significant milestone in our partnership with MBDA. This centre represents our commitment to enabling the UAE's defense industry. The Missile Engineering Centre is a testament to the successful collaboration between Tawazun Council and MBDA and it symbolizes our shared vision for long-term cooperation and mutual growth in the region.
"We at Tawazun Council aim to develop advanced missile systems that meet our country's specific requirements while also promoting local content and knowledge transfer."
Eric Béranger, Chief Executive Officer of MBDA, said: "This inauguration is a major landmark for us at MBDA and an illustration of the importance of our local presence and cooperation with our partner Tawazun Council. MBDA and its teams are extremely proud to see the new Missile Engineering Centre operational and already working on the development of the next generation of smart weapons. This unique cooperation is the very symbol of what we aim to achieve with our partner Tawazun Council in the UAE, projecting ourselves in the long term to make our collaboration a win-win and a symbol of our involvement in the region."
