yasin_khan
New Member
Producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is a trend that is gaining ground in the Middle East’s small but progressive weapon-building sector.
Jordan Aerospace Industries (JAI) is the latest private company to join the club. A partnership was announced Aug. 22 between JAI and the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB), both Amman-based, to jointly produce spy and target drones.
“The military forces in the Middle East are in need of UAVs,†JAI President Muayad Samera’ee said.JAI was established in 2001 to build and service light aircraft. KADDB, an independent government organization set up in 1999, designs and develops defense systems for Jordan’s and other regional militaries.
“UAVs have a good future because of their accuracy in performing tasks and low operational cost, which makes them needed in this region and around the world,†said Tamara Mash, JAI’s public relations manager.
JAI is developing three UAVs, according to a company brochure:
• The portable Jordan Silent Eye UAV system assembles in 15 minutes and is equipped with advanced system autonomy that enables hands-off operation by a two-man crew from take-off through recovery. It is ideal for aerial surveillance and scouting.
• The compact Jordan Falcon performs day and night reconnaissance, remote sensing, surveillance and target acquisition up to a range of 50 kilometers, for up to four hours. Its maximum speed is 180 kilometers per hour.
• The Jordan Arrow aerial target system is intended for training forces to evaluate and test close-in and short-range air defense systems such as surface-to-air missiles (including shoulder-lunched missiles) and anti-aircraft artillery.
“The Royal Jordanian Air Force is interested in our UAVs, but we are still in the [research and development] stages, so we haven’t sold them anything yet,†Mash said. “We should have something by the beginning of next year.â€
The Air Force could not comment at press time.
More UAV Development
Another regional private firm, Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Co. (GAMCO), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), displayed two UAV prototypes at the last International Defense Exhibition in March 2003 in Abu Dhabi.
“Our UAV program has come a long way since the last [exhibition] and was expanded from two models to nine different ones under development,†said Hamid Sabeti-Mehr, special projects engineer at GAMCO.
Development pace for each of the nine UAV models largely depends on the interest of GAMCO’s main client, the UAE Air Force, which often shifts from one model to another based on its needs, Sabeti-Mehr said.
GAMCO, which started its UAV program in 2002, builds the GRS surveillance UAVs and GRD target drones.
“The newest and most advanced program is the GRV100, which is a vertical take-off and landing spy UAV that can travel forward at a high speed of 350 knots,†Sabeti-Mehr said. “We are working on a one-third scale model of the GRV100, which has thus far carried out six successful test flights since last January.â€
GAMCO also is developing the GRD600 modular target drone, which can be powered by a jet or rotary engine and act as a pusher or tracker, depending on the client’s requirements, he said.
GAMCO is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi government, which owns 60 percent, and Gulf Air, with 40 percent.
“After the regional militaries saw the effective use of UAVs in the Iraq War and Afghanistan, there will be a growing demand for these systems,†Ahmad Timsah, a defense analyst and retired Lebanese Air Force brigadier general, said. “The UAV is not a very complicated and expensive system.â€
GAMCO and JAI are the only two private companies in the Middle East developing military UAVs.
Iran’s government-owned defense industry produces the Mohajer series, which the country’s military uses for surveillance and target practice.
http://www.isrjournal.com/story.php?F=342785
Jordan Aerospace Industries (JAI) is the latest private company to join the club. A partnership was announced Aug. 22 between JAI and the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB), both Amman-based, to jointly produce spy and target drones.
“The military forces in the Middle East are in need of UAVs,†JAI President Muayad Samera’ee said.JAI was established in 2001 to build and service light aircraft. KADDB, an independent government organization set up in 1999, designs and develops defense systems for Jordan’s and other regional militaries.
“UAVs have a good future because of their accuracy in performing tasks and low operational cost, which makes them needed in this region and around the world,†said Tamara Mash, JAI’s public relations manager.
JAI is developing three UAVs, according to a company brochure:
• The portable Jordan Silent Eye UAV system assembles in 15 minutes and is equipped with advanced system autonomy that enables hands-off operation by a two-man crew from take-off through recovery. It is ideal for aerial surveillance and scouting.
• The compact Jordan Falcon performs day and night reconnaissance, remote sensing, surveillance and target acquisition up to a range of 50 kilometers, for up to four hours. Its maximum speed is 180 kilometers per hour.
• The Jordan Arrow aerial target system is intended for training forces to evaluate and test close-in and short-range air defense systems such as surface-to-air missiles (including shoulder-lunched missiles) and anti-aircraft artillery.
“The Royal Jordanian Air Force is interested in our UAVs, but we are still in the [research and development] stages, so we haven’t sold them anything yet,†Mash said. “We should have something by the beginning of next year.â€
The Air Force could not comment at press time.
More UAV Development
Another regional private firm, Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Co. (GAMCO), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), displayed two UAV prototypes at the last International Defense Exhibition in March 2003 in Abu Dhabi.
“Our UAV program has come a long way since the last [exhibition] and was expanded from two models to nine different ones under development,†said Hamid Sabeti-Mehr, special projects engineer at GAMCO.
Development pace for each of the nine UAV models largely depends on the interest of GAMCO’s main client, the UAE Air Force, which often shifts from one model to another based on its needs, Sabeti-Mehr said.
GAMCO, which started its UAV program in 2002, builds the GRS surveillance UAVs and GRD target drones.
“The newest and most advanced program is the GRV100, which is a vertical take-off and landing spy UAV that can travel forward at a high speed of 350 knots,†Sabeti-Mehr said. “We are working on a one-third scale model of the GRV100, which has thus far carried out six successful test flights since last January.â€
GAMCO also is developing the GRD600 modular target drone, which can be powered by a jet or rotary engine and act as a pusher or tracker, depending on the client’s requirements, he said.
GAMCO is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi government, which owns 60 percent, and Gulf Air, with 40 percent.
“After the regional militaries saw the effective use of UAVs in the Iraq War and Afghanistan, there will be a growing demand for these systems,†Ahmad Timsah, a defense analyst and retired Lebanese Air Force brigadier general, said. “The UAV is not a very complicated and expensive system.â€
GAMCO and JAI are the only two private companies in the Middle East developing military UAVs.
Iran’s government-owned defense industry produces the Mohajer series, which the country’s military uses for surveillance and target practice.
http://www.isrjournal.com/story.php?F=342785
