UAE to buy 500 Russia helicopters for its police

A Russian Mil Mi-8 military helicopter flies over a joint Russian and Turkish convoy as it patrolls in oil fields near the town of al-Qahtaniyah, in Syria’s northeastern Hasakeh province close to the Turkish border, on 4 February 2021. [DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images]

Russia and the UAE have completed a deal that will see the Emirates’ Tawazun company buy a 50 per cent stake in Russian helicopter manufacturer VR-Technologies, RT reported yesterday.

VR-Technologies is a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters and was set up in 2014 to develop helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

According to RT, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov told the journalists that the deal was worth €400 million ($442 million).

“The government committee for foreign investments has recently held a meeting on the issue,” Manturov said, adding: “Our colleagues plan to complete the deal before May.”

The agreement, which was signed by the Director-General of Russian Helicopters, Andrey Boginsky, and the Director-General of Tawazun, Tareq Abdul Raheem Al Hosani, gives the UAE company equal representation on the board of VR-Technologies.

It was also revealed that the UAE is planning to obtain 100 VRT 300 and VRT 500 helicopters for its police force.

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