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2017-11-09

Lockheed Martin Focuses on Long-term partnerships and Programs with the UAE

At the Dubai Airshow, Lockheed Martin has showcased next generation technology on a variety of platforms. In an exclusive interview with the Nation Shield, Robert S Harward, Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin United Arab Emirates and Vice Admiral USN (Ret) SEAL, talks about the strong relationship with the UAE for many decades and the key recent initiatives Lockheed Martin has launched. Excerpts below:

Can you tell us about your plans for the Dubai Airshow this year?
The Dubai Airshow is an important opportunity for us to engage with our regional partners and prospective customers from around the Middle East and learn more about their requirements and priorities.

We’re also excited to showcase some of our long-term partnerships and programs. From the F-16, C-130 and our THAAD systems, we’re here to share some of our industry-leading capabilities to show our customers what’s possible and how we can help support them for what lies ahead.

The next generation of advanced materials, autonomous systems, human-machine collaboration and cyber-hardened platforms and mission systems, will continue to take center stage this year and all have the potential to create some very critical solutions for decades to come.

Would you share some of the challenges in today’s global security environment? What are you hearing from your customers?
The regional National Security situation remains complex. However the growth of competing existential threats and challenging relationships, contribute to an uncertain and precarious future necessitating the need for unprecedented collaboration and coordination.

What geopolitical developments do you see shaping the conversation around defense this year, and how will they directly or indirectly impact Lockheed Martin?
We continue to see instability globally, and locally. We also know we’re in a tough neighborhood. Protecting the UAE and our regional allies remains at the core of our partnership and is more important today than ever before because of the geopolitical environment around us.

We’ve had a strong relationship with the UAE for many decades, initially supporting defense programs like the C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft, F-16 fighter, PAC-3 missile interceptor and THAAD anti-ballistic missile system. Today we are seeking to expand that relationship in areas to support the UAE and regional allies in building more capabilities and training that support their urgent operational needs and challenges of the future.

I understand you are particularly focused on supporting the next generation through your innovation Center at Masdar City. Can you tell us about your most recent initiatives?
Beyond our capabilities, Lockheed Martin’s goal is to be a good partner by helping to build the local communities in which we work. Our Center for Innovation and Security Solutions is one way we do this in the UAE.

Through CISS, we have trained a number of local students and industry executives. Our most recent program, is the inaugural UAE Unmanned Aerial System Payload Design Challenge, a joint program led by Lockheed Martin’s UAE Center for Innovation & Security Solutions in partnership with Mubadala Investment Company.

Launched earlier this year, one initiative is a year-long program that challenges university students to design, develop and integrate civilian and industrial applications for Lockheed Martin’s Indago, a small, vertical take-off and landing, unmanned aerial system.

Six UAE-based university teams were selected as finalists for the challenge, and their projects are real-world solutions that can help the UAE now and into the future.

I have had the privilege of engaging with these talented young students recently, and I am very optimistic about the solutions they will bring into the future after spending time with them.

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