The UAE Ministry of Defense has announced its intention to sign a contract with China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) for the purchase of 12 L15 aircraft, with the option for 36 additional aircraft of the same type in the future.

Tareq Abdulraheem Al Hosani, Chief Executive Officer of Tawazun Economic Council, said the deal comes as part of the ongoing efforts to diversify and modernize capabilities of the Air Force and the Armed Forces units in general, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

“We have reached the final stage in our talks with the Chinese side. The final contract will be signed soon,” he said, adding, the UAE Armed Forces are characteristic for diversification to acquire the best capabilities to meet its requirements and to achieve its strategic goals.

“We trust that CATIC has advanced technology that enjoys global competitive advantages,” he noted.

Tawazun, which manages the procurements and contracts of the UAE Armed Forces and Abu Dhabi Police, will continue working with its strategic partners to develop the UAE’s defense capabilities and to achieve its strategic priorities. It will also continue its endeavors for the development of advanced technology in a way that will contribute to realizing the country’s vision for a robust defense sector, capable of serving future objectives.

According to CATIC, L-15A is a new-generation light Attack Fighter Trainer for 4th and 5th generation fighter pilot training, as well as air-to-air combat and air-to-ground attack. With the advanced aerodynamic layout, 3-axis 4-redundency digital FCS, twin FADEC turbofan engines, L-15A provides superior fighter-like performance.

The radar, FLIR and Reconnaissance pod, and other on-board sensors with data-fusion in the fully-digital glass cockpits enable its outstanding situation awareness capability both day and night. Thanks to the Embedded Tactical Training System, Ground Based Training System, Mission Planning/Debriefing System, L-15A provides great cost efficiency as advanced trainer, lead-in fighter trainer or as companion trainer, while full spectrum air-to-air and air-to-ground precision guided weapons as well as targeting and ECM pod avail its excellent combat capabilities whether in air interception or ground attack missions.

L-15A’s mature FCS technology, reliable system and redundancy design make its safety record second-to-none in its class. As representative of the new-generation advanced trainer, L-15A achieves perfect balance among high training-effectiveness, operational capability and low life-cycle cost.