France's MBDA to open missile engineering centre in UAE

• Tawazun will sign an agreement with MBDA to set up MBDA's first missile engineering centre in the region.
• The centre will establish know-how in pre-development to development and engineering of weapon systems.
• Tawazun will also sign an agreement with Dassault Aviation to set up a flight testing centre in Abu Dhabi.

ABU DHABI: France's MBDA and Dassault Aviation plan to open a missile engineering centre and a flight testing centre in the United Arab Emirates, the UAE's defence and security industry enabler Tawazun Economic Council said on Saturday.

The announcement comes a day ahead of the biennial Dubai Air Show which begins on Sunday.

Tawazun will sign an agreement with MBDA to set up MBDA's first missile engineering centre in the region, it said in a statement, adding the centre will establish know-how in pre-development to development and engineering of weapon systems.

Tawazun will also sign an agreement with Dassault Aviation to set up a flight testing centre in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, it said.

"The facility will play a pivotal role in laying the foundation for future programmes of flight testing in the region, to support integration and development for the defense sector," it said.