The US defense major Lockheed Martin has said it is committed to a long term partnership with the UAE which has developed over the years to include an industrial and economic dimension.

In a wide ranging interview with ‘Nation Shield’, the official journal of the UAE Armed Forces, Mr. Clifton M. Spier, VicePresident, Command & Control Solutions, Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions—Defense and MrOrville Prins, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Vice President, International Business Development, Air and Missile Defense also said the company valued its relationship with the UAE which is expected to grow further in the coming years.

Highlighting the key position of the UAE as one of their valued clients, they pointed out that the UAE was the first ever recipient in the foreign military sale of Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interceptors.

“Lockheed Martin is honored by the UAE’s selection of the THAAD system and our role in supporting the UAE and U.S. to achieve overall program success,” the officials said.  

“We have been here for a long time. We have strong ties with this region.  We recognize how important our performance is here for the security of the UAE, they said.

“We provide need based solutions to the UAE. In every program that we have, the Government of the UAE has set the requirements for us, and what we do is to work with the Government of the UAE and the U.S. to make sure our solutions meet these requirements and also deliver economic and industrial value. They have the right to review and approve or refuse them. 

“We have also commitments associated with our future programs. It does us no good to establish a couple of projects that fall apart as soon as we finish our contractual requirements.  That is not good for our reputation. It is also not good for the country or their industry.  We look at not only what is good for us but what is beneficial for the customer in the long term,” they added.

The officials said that from IT support to aircraft to satellite imagery to air traffic control systems to precision munitions, Lockheed Martin products - and people - have been an integral part of their customers successfully meeting their defining moments.

 “In its globally inclusive approach to business, Lockheed Martin's goals are to establish and maintain enduring international alliances with government and advanced technology partners around the world, and be seen as their international partner of choice.

“The UAE especially has been a very good partner with Lockheed Martin and has had very good cooperation in terms of exchanging information and ideas as we negotiate contracts. Talking to them about future systems and capabilities helps us and educates us in what their problems are so that we can tailor our solutions to meet their needs,” they said.

“Lockheed Martin offers three major attributes to its more than 300 partnerships in more than 30 countries -- advanced technology, financial strength and proven performance in matching corporate breadth and depth to customer priorities,” they added

“We have a joint venture with Mubadala and we continue to look at potential opportunities to increase collaboration with the industrial sector in the UAE,” they said adding that their high level participation in both the IDEX and Dubai Air Show attests to their commitment to the UAE.

“Both IDEX and Dubai Air Show are great venues for key people in defense and aviation industry to meet up, discuss and build relationships. We are able to exchange ideas and views with different people from different countries of both military and non-military fields.

“The workshops and conferences are valuable as they give us an opportunity to find out about the perceptions of other peoples about security and defense.  It is a difficult job to bring people together and we appreciate that.  It is extremely valuable to enable networking and exchange information,” they said.

“Though we are a very good company in terms of our capabilities, without talking to the customers, we would not be able to know what their problems and requirements are.  That understanding is necessary to create customized solutions.

Participation in international expositions can be time consuming and costly. We evaluate and prepare for each one carefully to optimize value for our engagements with government officials, members of the military and industry.  “Considering those parameters, the Dubai Air Show is a very special event for us.”

The officials said Lockheed Martin’s command and control solutions in aerial defense were superior to those from the competitors. “Lockheed Martin with all its different components whether it is for land forces, maritime forces or air forces, in a unique way brings all that together in a solution that would help coordinate all the different forces to bolster air defense.”

“Lockheed Martin is a global security company with customers around the world and partners in more than 50 countries outside the United States. Working with our partners, we are meeting a broad range of government priorities, from strengthening global security through defense system modernization, to air, marine and rail traffic management, and from military and civil command and control systems to building and launching satellites.

“We provide complete and unfailing support to our customers as they face their most challenging operations. When the stakes couldn't be higher, and when extraordinary reliability is required, we want to be a trusted partner who will listen, perform, and deliver,” they said.