UAE awards 7 billion dirhams of military contracts, Russia gets big deal

ABU DHABI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates on Monday awarded 7 billion dirhams (£1.5 billion) of military procurement deals including a 2.6 billion dirham contract for Russia's Rosoboronexport, the spokesman for the Idex military exhibition said. Rosoboronexport will supply 5,000 anti-armour missiles plus training and support to the UAE armed forces, Rashid al Shamsi said. Sweden's SAAB AB won a contract for 865.7 million dirhams to provide new airborne surveillance systems and spares, while UAE firm Maximus Air was awarded a 1.8 billion dirham contract to supply air cargo planes. On Sunday, the UAE awarded 4.5 billion dirhams worth of contracts. Idex, the region's largest military show, began on Sunday and will end on Thursday. Over 1,200 companies are participating. (Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Andrew Torchia)