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Mid East Info
15-05-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
Raytheon, an RTX Business, Inaugurates Production and Assembly Facility to manufacture the Coyote counter drone interceptor at Tawazun Industrial Park
The new facility is part of Raytheon and Tawazun Council's plan to locally manufacture the Coyote counter drone interceptor in the UAE Abu Dhabi, May 2025 – Raytheon, an RTX business, announced the inauguration of a new advanced industrial facility at Tawazun Industrial Park in Abu Dhabi. The facility will serve as a specialised centre for the production and assembly of the Coyote counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS), reflecting the company's ongoing commitment to supporting the UAE's efforts in localising advanced defence manufacturing. The inauguration ceremony was attended by US Ambassador to the UAE H.E Martina Strong, along with a group of senior officials from Tawazun Council, Shareef Hashim Al Hashmi, CEO of Operations, Matar Ali Al Romaithi, Sector Chief of Defence & Security Industrial Affairs (DSIA), Khalifa Ayada Al Hameli, Chief Executive Affairs, Ahmed Ali Al Harmoodi, Sector Chief of Acquisition Management, Hamdan Nasser Al Zaabi, Acting CEO of Tawazun Industrial Park and Fahad Mohammed Al Mheiri, Managing Director of Raytheon Emirates. During the event, officials toured the facility which, once operational, will enhance the resilience and efficiency of the defence supply chain, a testament to the UAE's progress in localising cutting-edge defence technologies. The launch of this facility follows a series of agreements signed between Tawazun Council and Raytheon to support the localisation of strategic defence industries in the UAE. As part of these collaborations, Raytheon has partnered with local entities, including EDGE's EPI, which has already commenced the manufacturing of prototype components as an initial step toward industrial readiness. Spanning 21,500 square feet, the facility features advanced infrastructure and dedicated spaces for the final integration, assembly, and precision testing of the Coyote interceptor system. The system, proven in the field, is designed to counter a wide range of unmanned aerial threats and will now be produced locally — setting a new benchmark in the UAE's defence manufacturing ecosystem. Matar Ali Al Romaithi, Sector Chief of Defence & Security Industrial Affairs (DSIA) at Tawazun Council, said: 'This facility marks a strategic milestone in the UAE's vision to establish an advanced defence industrial base. The partnership stems from the objectives of Tawazun Economic Programme to foster collaboration with international partners to transfer knowledge and advanced technologies to the UAE's defence and security industrial sector. 'Through the development of specialised local capabilities and a greater focus on national production, the project supports the enhancement of local content and empowers Emirati companies to play a leading role in global supply chains. It also reinforces the UAE's position as a regional hub for advanced defence industries and strengthens its drive towards industrial self-reliance and technological excellence,' he added. Hamdan Nasser Al Zaabi, Acting CEO of Tawazun Industrial Park, stated: 'The inauguration of Raytheon's facility reflects our vision to develop an integrated industrial ecosystem that attracts high-value investments and builds sustainable national manufacturing capabilities. This project underscores the competitiveness of the UAE's industrial environment and its capacity to host global defence initiatives that strengthen our national capabilities.' 'The inauguration of our new facility brings us a step closer to delivering production and assembly of the first UAE made Raytheon interceptor, which will mark our first local production programme with our partners in the UAE,' said Fahad Mohammed Al Mheiri, Managing Director of Raytheon Emirates. 'We are proud to deliver this project to support and utilise the continued growth of the local defence ecosystem, which will also enhance Raytheon's global supply chain. We are excited to see the Raytheon facility at Tawazun Industrial Park come to life, advancing our partnership from plan to production, further contributing to the development of local capabilities and strengthening the UAE's position as a hub for advanced defence technologies.' Coyote is an advanced and highly capable counter drone interceptor that has proven itself effective at defeating a range of drone threats. Designed to intercept hostile Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Coyote provides security and protection for personnel, critical infrastructure, and military assets. About RTX: RTX is the world's largest aerospace and defense company. With more than 185,000 global employees, we push the limits of technology and science to redefine how we connect and protect our world. Through industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon – we are advancing aviation, engineering integrated defense systems for operational success, and developing next-generation technology solutions and manufacturing to help global customers address their most critical challenges. The company, with 2024 sales of more than $80 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
NDTV
15-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
The '3 Brothers' - Turkey, Pak, And Azerbaijan
During India and Pakistan's 100-hour war in May 2025, Islamabad fired a barrage of drones and missiles at enemy military installations and, according to Delhi, civilian populations. The biggest wave was late May 8 and early May 9; between 300 and 400 drones, and over a dozen missiles attacked 36 towns or cities from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, spanning nearly 1,300 km along the Line of Control and the international border. Advertisement - Scroll to continue A vast majority of these were shot down, and those that weren't were neutralised, i.e., electronically disabled, thanks to India's 'Iron Dome', - the Integrated counter-Unmanned Aerial System, or C-UAS. Only three injuries - in Punjab - and one casualty - in J&K - were reported. On the face of it then, Pak's attempt to attack had been firmly rebuffed. But from the debris of the shot-down projectiles, a new plotline has emerged - a nexus between Pakistan and Turkey, and a third nation - Azerbaijan. The three countries share an increasingly robust economic and military relationship, not to mention their common Islamic heritage. The 'Three Brothers' Historically each has supported the other; after the Soviet Union fell Turkey and Pak were quick to recognise Azerbaijan, and Turkey and Pak have a growing symbiotic military relationship, one underscored by each side's reluctance to depend on either the West or China. And oil-rich Azerbaijan has quietly become a leading source of aid and investment for Pak; in February 2025, for example, Baku committed $2 billion in infrastructure, energy, and mining. Baku and Islamabad also struck weapons deals, and the latter was reportedly backed by the former and Ankara during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war involving Azerbaijan and Armenia. Incidentally, India has emerged as a supporter of Armenia. In 2024 Delhi became Yerevan's largest defence supplier after a $2 billion deal that included sale of the indigenously developed Akash missile system that kept the Turkish-made Pak drones at bay. NDTV Exclusive | Guardians Of The Sky - India's Integrated Air Defence Outfoxed Pak There has also been economic cooperation - in banking, trade, and tourism, among other fields - which is critical given all three are on ancient trade corridors linking the 'far East' and Europe. Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev (File). The nexus also adds to a significant common diplomatic, or 'soft', power that can be used to project combined geopolitical influence eastward from Pak, across Central Asia, and even up to Europe, with analysts also pointing to Islamabad's 'power and influence among Muslims'. These, then, are the 'three brothers' against whom, in effect, India fought the 100-hours war. NDTV Opinion | Story Of '3 Brothers' And Why Azerbaijan Is Cheering For Pakistan Arguably, Pak was the face, Turkey the weapons hand, and Azerbaijan aided by unleashing a flood of disinformation and propaganda seeking to discredit Delhi's military actions. The Turkish Angle Now, many of the Pak drones that attacked India last week were Turkish-made. These included the Asisguard SONGAR, which can transmit live video and carry weapons, and the Bayraktar TB2, a medium-altitude, long-endurance UCAV, or unmanned combat aerial vehicle. That foreign-made/foreign-purchased weapons were used wasn't a surprise; Pak also deployed Chinese-made JF-17 fighters and fired PL-15 air-to-air missiles sold by Beijing, just as India had French-made Rafales, Israeli drones, and Russian missiles in its expansive arsenal. Debris of a Turkish-made Pakistani drone shot down over J&K. But the Ankara link - a link reinforced by the docking of a warship and a possible arms shipment delivered by a C-130 military transport, days before Operation Sindoor - raised eyebrows. Turkey insisted no arms had been supplied and the warship's visit was naval courtesy. Clearly, though, weapons have been supplied. Turkey-Pak Weapons Deals Over the past several years Ankara and Islamabad have, discreetly, stepped up defence ties. For example, the Pakistan Air Force now flies more than three-dozen United States-made F-16 fighter jets that have been upgraded by Turkish Aerospace Industries in a $75 million deal. A Turkish company was given $20 million to develop electronic warfare training centres. Another got an $80 million contract to design and build a fleet tanker - "capable of performing a variety of maritime operations, including provision of logistic support to other ships by transferring fuel", according to the Manohar Parrikar Institute - for the Pak Navy. Upgraded submarines cost $350 million, electronic targeting equipment cost $50 million and there was a $1.5 billion deal for four Turkish warships with anti-submarine capabilities. There was also another $1.5 billion deal for 30 attack helicopters - upgraded versions of the Italian-made A-129 - but Islamabad walked back on that after getting China's Z-10MEs. Turkey has sold weapons to Pakistan, and those were used, albeit to no real effect thanks to effective countermeasures, against India. Delhi hasn't yet, and is perhaps unlikely to, take this up with Ankara, but sources have said the India-Turkey relationship may be re-evaluated. There has been civilian pushback against Turkey; tourists and Bollywood, perhaps two of Ankara's most lucrative imports from Delhi, have gone on a 'boycott Turkey' drive. Azerbaijan has also come in for criticism from the Indian public. This hasn't, so far at least, affected Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - whose stature as a 'global statesman' is on the rise after hosting the first, post-war, face-to-face Russia-Ukraine peace talks. Erdogan has reiterated support for his 'dear brother', Pak's Shehbaz Sharif. Kıymetli @CMShehbaz kardeşim, Dünya üzerinde pek az millete nasip olan Türkiye-Pakistan kardeşliği, hakiki dostluğun en güzel örneklerinden biridir.… — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) May 13, 2025 Erdogan, in fact, has visited Pak six time since becoming President in 2003. So, if India's trade ties with the other two 'brothers' is to take a hit, how much are we talking? Exports to Turkey stood at $5.2 billion between April 2024 and February 2025. This was $6.65 billion in 2023/24 and is only 1.5 per cent of India's total exports of $437 billion. Explained | India's Trade Ties With Turkey, Azerbaijan Amid Pak Conflict Exports to Azerbaijan were only $86.07 million between April 2024 and February 2025, against $89.67 million in 2023/24. This is only 0.02 per cent of India's total outbound shipments. Combined, imports amount to less than 0.6 per cent. There is, therefore, a trade surplus, even if it isn't sizeable. 'Three Brothers' vs India? The 100-hours war emphasised two points. The first - the Indian military is tactically astute, has a potent arsenal of short-, medium-, and long-range missiles and drones, backed by squadrons of effective, if outdated, fighter jets, all protected behind a reliable, layered aerial defence system capable of soft and hard kills. This protection is provided by India's 'Iron Dome' - within which sit various radar arrays to locate, identify, and track potential airspace threats. Countermeasures are then deployed, from jamming signals to firing interceptors from the Akash or the Russian-made S-400. Russian-made S-400 missile defence systems were used to counter Pak threats (File). The second - the 'three brothers' nexus needs to be taken seriously, more so since there appears to be a gentle shift in Islamabad moving away from Washington (and maybe even Beijing) to Ankara. And Delhi is doing that. In Europe, for example, there is military support to Armenia (to counter Azerbaijan) and engagement with Greece-supported Cyprus (to offset Turkey). There is also the planned India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, and the fact this does not include or pass through either Turkey or Azerbaijan isn't a coincidence. India will likely continue to engage Turkey and Azerbaijan, because it doesn't make sense, at this stage, to cut oneself off from key powers in the Central Asian region, but Delhi will be watching the 'three brothers' closely, moving to counterbalance or support where needed. With input from agencies NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. 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NDTV
09-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
IMF Clears $1-BillIion Loan For Pakistan, Says Prime Minister's Office
Quick Reads Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. Pakistan claimed the IMF approved a $1 billion bailout, although there's no official confirmation. Meanwhile, Pak drones have targeted Indian cities for a third straight night, this time injuring civilians. New Delhi: Pakistan on Friday night claimed the International Monetary Fund had authorised the "immediate disbursement" of a billion-dollar bailout to its troubled economy. The claim was made by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif 's office; a statement from the Pak PMO, cited by news agencies Reuters and PTI, said Mr Sharif had "expressed satisfaction over the approval of a $1 billion... by the IMF and the failure of India's high-handed tactics..." There has been no statement by the IMF, so far, on sanction of the loan. The claim, meanwhile, was made as the Pakistani military launched weapon-carrying drones and missiles at western Indian cities and military installations for a third consecutive night. Swarms of Pak drones were spotted over Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Punjab, and the Indian military has begun engaging the enemy targets, the government said. Three civilians were injured in Punjab's Ferozepur after a drone attacked a residential colony. Pak drones and missiles attacked India Wednesday and Thursday night too, emphasising the worrying escalation of military tension between the two nuclear powers. India's air defence system - including the integrated counter-unmanned aerial system, or C-UAS, and the indigenously developed Akash missile defence system - has shot down or neutralised almost all of Pak's projectiles, the government said in a briefing earlier today. India's Protest At IMF Earlier today India had opposed the IMF's proposal to extend loans of up to $2.3 billion, including a fresh Reliance and Sustainability Facility lending programme worth $1.3 billion. India argued the funds could be misused - to finance state-sponsored cross-border terrorism - and protested by abstained from voting on the disbursement. The objections were fuelled by New Delhi's long-held position that the Pakistan government, or at least the deep state, actively funds and supports cross-border terrorism targeting India. Those charges have been raised once again after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in J&K, in which 26 people, mostly civilians, were killed. A proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group, calling itself The Resistance Front, claimed responsibility for the attack. India responded with a raft of non-military measures followed by Operation Sindoor early Wednesday, in which nine terror camps in Pak and Pak-occupied Kashmir were destroyed. Pakistan fiercely denied any connection to the Pahalgam attack and called for an international inquiry, but India has since pointed to a pile of evidence linking Pak state and military actors to terror attacks worldwide, including the 2005 London bombings and an attack in Russia last year. Pakistan was also grilled by the United Nations Security Council over terror groups like Lashkar continuing to operate from within its territory.
NDTV
09-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
Amid Pak Tensions, India Activates Territorial Army, Its Auxiliary Military Force
New Delhi: The Defence Ministry on Friday activated 14 of 32 infantry battalions of the Territorial Army - India's auxiliary military force - for deployment across the country till 2028. The Territorial Army is being called out for 'heightened readiness and strategic reinforcement', sources told NDTV. The order, from the ministry's Department of Military Affairs, comes amid rapidly escalating military tension between India and Pakistan over the Pahalgam terror attack. Man-for-man India has a distinct advantage over the Pak army. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India has around 14.75 lakh active military personnel and over 16 lakh in the paramilitary forces. Pak, meanwhile, has less than seven lakh military personnel on active deployment and a paramilitary force of 2.9 lakh. READ | India, Pakistan's Military Strengths: How Arch-Rivals Stack Up India also has more fixed-wing aircraft, including fighter jets, as well as more helicopters, armoured fighting vehicles, and pieces of artillery, the SIPRI report said. The game of 'top trumps' involving India and Pak's military assets plays out as the two nuclear powers edge closer to all-out war, fuelled by decades-long tension over border conflicts. Over the last 72 hours India has repulsed two waves of drone and missile attacks by Pak and shot down enemy fighter jets, reinforcing offensive and defensive superiority over the enemy. READ | How Indian Defences Protected Nation, Shot Down Pak Missiles Each wave was shot down thanks to India's advanced air defence network, which includes an integrated counter-unmanned aerial system, or C-UAS, and interceptor systems like the Russian-made S-400 Triumf and the indigenously developed Akash missiles. The Indian military earlier also launched precision strikes - Operation Sindoor - on nine terror camps in Pak and Pak-occupied Kashmir, killing over 100 terrorists and dismantling terror infrastructure used to launch past attacks on India, including in Pulwama in 2019. Operation Sindoor - a tri-services military effort, the first since the 1971 war with Pakistan - was India's first military response to the Pahalgam attack in which terrorists killed 26 people. India has said it has proof of Pakistan's involvement in Pahalgam and other terror attacks, both targeting its territory and people and those of other nations, like the 2005 London bombings. Pak has denied India's charge and insisted on an independent international inquiry. However, Islamabad's claims were ripped apart by India in a press briefing Thursday evening, in which Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri detailed that country's continuing support of terrorism.
India Today
09-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
The smiles on Rajnath Singh, 3 service chiefs tell a story
In a powerful image that swiftly made rounds on social media, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the chiefs of India's armed forces appeared composed and even smiling during a high-level, closed-door meeting in New Delhi. The meeting - attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, and Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi - came less than 24 hours after Pakistan launched a wave of drone and missile attacks along India's western optics of the gathering were unmissable. Despite a night of unprovoked aggression from Pakistan, the top brass of India's defence establishment looked calm, confident, collected and even cheerful, sending a clear and deliberate message to the nation: India is secure, its leadership is alert, and there is no cause for the composed exterior was the backdrop of a critical national security development. In the intervening night of May 8-9, Pakistan launched a barrage of swarm drones - loitering munitions aimed at destabilising India's military infrastructure along the Line of Control and the international attempts were effectively repulsed thanks to India's robust and multi-layered air defence grid. The country's advanced systems, including interceptor missiles, radars, and integrated theatre commands, swung into action, successfully neutralising over 50 drones and safeguarding 15 critical defence sites across a vast 1,800-km drone attack was seen as a retaliation to India's precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, in which the Indian armed forces targeted nine terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday. These strikes came in response to the barbaric April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which had stirred outrage across the defensive strategy relied on a well-synchronised deployment of technologies such as C-UAS (Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems), Pechora missiles, SAMAR systems, and AD guns. The efficacy of these systems was evident as they intercepted multiple threats mid-air, turning Pakistani provocations into tactical InTrending Reel advertisement
