A new high-tech coastal radar system developed by Swedish defence firm Saab in the UAE says much about how the world is changing.
High-intensity war has returned, with armies re-focusing on systems for fast moving and highly destructive conflicts, motivated by the fallout from the Ukraine war. That involves defending homelands from sophisticated drone and missile attacks that could come not only by air, but by sea.
Militants are learning from global conflicts and increasingly have the arms of major militaries, as seen during the Houthi militia’s blockade of the Red Sea, where the Iran-backed group was equipped with an arsenal of drones and missiles.
Developed by Saab UAE, in cooperation with the Tawazun Industrial Park in Abu Dhabi to support domestic industrial capacity, the Coast Control Radar is a good example of this shift to countering high-intensity threats.
Sweden’s changing priorities, and how they benefit the UAE, were outlined at the Idex 2025 defence expo in Abu Dhabi by the Swedish ambassador to the UAE, Fredrik Floren, and Maj Gen Laura Swaan Wrede.
With the Ukraine conflict, which resulted in Sweden joining Nato last year, the country is back on a war footing, putting to use its decades of experience at defending coastal areas.
“During the Cold War, we were close to Russia and developed the concept of ‘total defence’,” Maj Gen Swaan Wrede said. “And then when the Berlin Wall fell, everyone thought eternal peace would occur around the world and in Europe, and we downsized our armies like the rest of Europe. And then suddenly we're back to square one again with Ukraine.”
She said old lessons are being re-learned, with implications for how Sweden’s allies think about defending themselves from a spectrum of threats.
New dangers
The Sweden-UAE defence partnership is ahead of the curve in facing up to emerging threats. Last year, the UAE took delivery of its fifth GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW) aircraft. That capability puts the UAE ahead of countries such as the UK, which lacks AEW (although Britain is testing new E-7 Wedgetail aircraft).
The planes say a lot about the new threat environment. The GlobalEye can track targets with powerful radar from an altitude of more than 500km, including targets on the ground and at sea, picking up drones and other threats long before they are intercepted. That kind of capability might have been redundant in most counterterror operations but increasingly, militant groups possess a range of airborne long-range assets.
Maj Gen Swaan Wrede says Sweden developed these kinds of capabilities, such as the Saab Gripen fighter jet, during decades of high-intensity threats from Soviet Russia.
Another system Saab UAE showcased at Idex is DeployNet, a 5G communications system that can support 10,000 users in remote locations and can be set up in response to natural disasters. It is a classic example of defence technology that has benefited from civilian expertise.
“It's very important for us to work closely with civilian industry, because you save time, you save lives if you work together from the beginning,” Maj Gen Swaan Wrede said. “So when we implement new systems, we need to have industry with us on military exercises. I think that is something people can learn from us.
“You have to involve the whole of society to defend your country, and in Sweden during the Cold War, we sent out advice pamphlets for people living close to power plants. We taught civilians how to take cover in case there were air strikes. And then we forgot about it because, as I said, people thought eternal peace would occur.
“So in the last few years, we have sent out brochures to all civilians in Sweden advising people to be resilient for at least one week. You need to have water, food, medical things for one week so during the mobilisation, you won't be a burden for society.”
Mr Floren says the changes that have come with the Ukraine war are still a shock for some Swedes. “What has happened in Europe with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is that it has changed so much: a contravention of the UN Charter, a contravention of European security architecture. And that has made Sweden turn the page on 200 years of non-military alignment. That's a big step,” he told The National.
Maj Gen Swaan Wrede says co-operation with the UAE has produced benefits for both sides. “While Sweden has an old history of being a country with a lot of development in military areas, radar systems, aeroplanes and weapons, we also see benefits the other ways. The UAE is using our systems in an environment that we are not used to. For example, the desert. We're up in the north, so the benefits go both ways,” she says.
She sees military and defence production co-operation with the UAE going from strength to strength. Talks this week with UAE Air Force officials and the commander of the Zayed Military University, to explore educational systems and areas of interest, are “the beginning of something broader than only the technical exchange between our countries”, she said.
“We'll probably be back here for other co-operation, for example, with the cadet school, because we're interested to see how they do the training of their cadets. So we'll bring a lot of things back to Sweden.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Factfile on Garbine Muguruza:
Name: Garbine Muguruza (ESP)
World ranking: 15 (will rise to 5 on Monday)
Date of birth: October 8, 1993
Place of birth: Caracas, Venezuela
Place of residence: Geneva, Switzerland
Height: 6ft (1.82m)
Career singles titles: 4
Grand Slam titles: 2 (French Open 2016, Wimbledon 2017)
Career prize money: $13,928,719
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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The%20specs
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
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