US to Defend Aircraft Carrying UAE Leaders

The United States has approved the sale of a system to counter infrared missile threats to airplanes carrying the political leadership of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — “This proposed sale of Directional Infrared Countermeasures will help provide protection to the UAE’s Head of State aircraft,” the DSCA stated.

“The sale of this advanced system will enhance the safety of the UAE's political leadership while bolstering US-UAE relations.”

The $335 million sale of the AN/AAQ-24(V) Directional Infrared Countermeasure system will provide jamming and tracking to counter multiple heat-seeking missile threats.

The system is produced by US defense contractor Northrop Grumman.

The sale comes as the Middle East is awash in weapons, including numerous kinds of missiles that could be used by terrorist groups, as well as tensions between Iran and the Arab Gulf countries.