Security, Aerospace & Defence
From The Report: Abu Dhabi 2020
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In recent years Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE have passed several important milestones in terms of security, aerospace and defence strategy. In 2019 Hazzaa Al Mansoori, an astronaut born in Al Wathba, roughly 45 km outside Abu Dhabi City, became the first Emirati to visit the International Space Station. The mission helped to raise the profile and popularity of the UAE’s National Space Programme, under which the country aims to reach Mars by 2021, among other objectives. In 2020 the country plans to launch its Hope probe, which is scheduled to reach Martian orbit by 2021, marking the 50th anniversary of the UAE. At the same time, 2019 saw the development of new long-term strategies for aerospace and cybersecurity, alongside a major merger of defence sector entities. Meanwhile, the UAE Armed Forces continued to play a crucial role in ensuring regional stability. This chapter contains an interview with Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Director-General, UAE Space Agency.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Fly high: A steady flow of government funding supports the growth of local industries amid uncertainty in the air travel segment
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In recent years Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE have passed several important milestones in terms of security, aerospace and defence strategy. In 2019 Hazzaa Al Mansoori, an astronaut born in Al Wathba, roughly 45 km outside Abu Dhabi City, became the first Emirati to visit the International Space Station. The mission helped to raise the profile and popularity of the UAE’s National Space Programme, under which the country aims to reach Mars by 2021, among other objectives. In July 2020 the…

Interview

Giant leaps: Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Director-General, UAE Space Agency, on building capacity in the domestic space industry
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Interview:Mohammed Al Ahbabi To what extent are international partnerships important to strengthen the UAE’s space industry? MOHAMMED AL AHBABI: International partnerships are essential to our journey. As the first space agency in the region, collaboration is of the utmost importance; without it, knowledge development and transfer would be impeded. As such, the UAE Space Agency currently has over 30 agreements, consolidating our commitment to the international space community. The UAE also…

Analysis

Competitive edge: A new conglomerate is created to streamline defence policy
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The Dubai Air Show in November 2019 marked the inauguration of EDGE Group, a new defence conglomerate based in Abu Dhabi created to bring a range of companies under one name. Launched by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces, the new entity will have a combined annual revenue of around $5bn, employ over 12,000 people and join up some 25 existing companies. This forms part of the UAE’s ongoing drive to boost the…

Analysis

Aim for the stars: The local space exploration industry continues to expand, with a major mission planned for 2020
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In September 2019 Hazzaa Al Mansoori, born in Al Wathba in Abu Dhabi, became the first Arab to visit the International Space Station (ISS) in an eight-day mission accompanied by two fellow crew members from Russia and the US. Al Mansoori’s successful journey captured the emirate’s imagination and helped raise the global profile of the UAE’s space programme. The sector also received a boost thanks to recent technological advancements and investment from the government, which aims to…