His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, visited Tuesday the fifth edition of UMEX & SimTEX 2022, being staged at Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre.
The three-day event, which opened on 21 February, is being organized by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) in cooperation with the UAE Ministry of Defense. This year’s edition sees the participation of 134 companies from 26 countries.
During the tour of a number of national, regional and global pavilions, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed viewed the latest technological innovations and solutions in areas of unmanned systems, simulation, training, AI, robotics, and multi-use systems for defense and civilian sectors.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed interacted and exchanged talk with the heads of the participating delegations about the importance of their engagement in the twin shows, UAE national news agency WAM reported.
His Highness commended the neat organization of the event in a manner that, he said, befits the prominent status of the UAE. He praised the high level and quality of this year's turnout that, Sheikh Mohamed said, reflects the significant developments happening in the field of unmanned systems.
“By hosting such global exhibitions, UAE aims to strengthen cooperation and partnerships and support defense capabilities with the objective of facing common challenges, based on its pivotal role in enhancing regional security and stability,” Sheikh Mohamed declared.
Meanwhile, on the second day of the UMEX & SimTEX 2022, the UAE Ministry of Defense announced the signing of three new deals with an overall value of over AED966.25 million (US$ 264.7 million), the organizers reported.
This brings the total number of deals of the first two days of this year’s edition to six with an overall value of AED1.620 billion (US$ 433.8 million), with an increase of 159% compared to the deals of the first two days in the 2020 edition.
The overall value of deals signed by the UAE Ministry of Defense with local companies participating in UMEX & SimTEX 2022 in its second day amounted to approximately AED874.174 million (US$ 239.5 million), while contracts with foreign companies reached AED92.077 million (US$ 25.2 million).
The second day’s deals include one valued at over AED 874.174 million (US$ 239.5 million) with International Golden Group for purchasing a drone system, and an AED 46.643 million (US$ 12.8 million) contract with the American Anduril Industries company for finishing trials related to an anti-drone system, along with a deal valued at around AED 43.434 million (US$ 11.9 million) with France’s MBDA company for purchasing thermal flares.
This year’s edition hosts several prominent global companies, including the US General Atomics company for aviation systems, the US L3 Harris Technologies, the US Insitu company, France’s Nexter Systems, Ukraine’s Ukroboronprom, Italy’s Fincantieri, and China’s ALIT, and many more leading global countries that are launching their latest unmanned systems innovations and technologies at UMEX & SimTEX.
The fifth edition features 15 live shows in the Tilal Swaihan area, showcasing grounded and aerial unmanned systems and AI and robotics technologies, with a total of 22 advanced technologies and innovations in the fields being unveiled at these shows. This edition also features the Modern Technology Track, which takes visitors on a tour showcasing the latest advanced technologies featured at the exhibitions, UMEX talks, the best innovative solutions for challenges, and futurism endeavors in a world with rapid scientific advances and increasing reliance on unmanned systems and AI.
