France’s Naval Group has signed a joint development agreement with Tawazun Council and Marakeb Technologies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the development of a National Combat Management System (NCMS) for the UAE Navy through an extensive transfer of technology and know-how, the companies announced in a joint press release on 8 March 2024.
The agreement comes as part of ongoing efforts to further enable the UAE’s defence and security industries, support the sector’s rapid growth and provide national defence solutions capable of meeting future needs.
The agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi by Shareef Hashim Al Hashmi, CEO of operations at Tawazun Council, Lilian Brayle, executive vice president combat system and equipment at Naval Group, and Basel Shuhaiber, CEO of Marakeb Technologies, in the presence of a number of senior officials.
Under the agreement Naval Group will work in co-operation with Marakeb Technologies LLC, a subsidiary of Strategic Development Fund Company (SDF), which was chosen as the joint development national partner for the NCMS programme.
Naval Group will facilitate the development of an NCMS for the UAE Navy to integrate into its naval fleet, in both new-build and retrofitted vessels.
H E Muammar Abdulla Abushehab, the CEO of Tawazun, pointed out that the NCMS programme will provide sovereign advantages in terms of control, customisation and system updates to align with the requirements of the UAE Navy while charting a promising roadmap toward enhancing UAE defence-industrial capabilities.
