Reuters news agency quoted two well-informed sources as saying that Israel has agreed to sell the advanced Rafael air defense system to the UAE, in the first announced deal between the two countries since the normalization of relations between them in 2020.

The sources said that Israel agreed to a UAE request in the middle of the summer to supply it with the Rafael-produced Spyder interceptor missiles, but they declined to provide further details due to the sensitive nature of the deal.

A third source said the UAE had acquired Israeli technology aimed at repelling drone attacks such as the one that struck its capital Abu Dhabi earlier this year.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense and Rafael declined to comment, and the UAE Foreign Ministry did not comment on the matter.

It is not yet clear how many interceptor missiles will be sold to the UAE, or whether any of them have been shipped so far, knowing that Spyder missiles can be launched from platforms installed on vehicles and used to defend against short- and long-range threats.

In response to a question about whether Israel will provide the UAE with air defense systems, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) Ram Ben Barak said that there is broad cooperation with the UAE, but he refused to make any further comment while speaking to Israel Radio.

chain of attacks

According to Reuters, the UAE found it needed to bolster its air defense capabilities after a series of attacks on the Gulf state using missiles and drones in January and February.

Most of these attacks have already been intercepted, but one of them killed 3 civilians in Abu Dhabi.

Foreign diplomats said that the strike had alarmed the leaders of the UAE, which has long prided itself on its security and stability in a turbulent region.

Sources familiar with the damage caused by the attacks said that a terminal under construction at Abu Dhabi airport was also attacked, injuring civilian workers.

Some sources stated that at least some of the missiles and drones flew at low altitudes, to avoid interception by the THAAD high-altitude missile defense systems and the Patriot interceptor missiles that the UAE purchased from the United States.


System properties

Rafael says the Spyder can defend large swathes of threats from drones, cruise missiles, attack fighters, helicopters and bombers.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog - who visited the UAE last January - said that Israel supports the UAE's security needs.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said he was shocked by the attacks, and that Israel stood with the UAE.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed responsibility for most of the strikes.

The UAE is fighting the Houthi group as part of a Saudi-led military coalition that seeks to restore the ousted legitimate government to power.

The sources said that Israel and the UAE concluded the interceptor missile deal in the middle of the summer.

New Arab priorities

Reuters reported that this agreement reinforces the impression that national priorities for some Arab countries - such as security and the economy - have overshadowed the resolution of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to these sources, the United States and Israel are pushing Arab countries to connect their air defense systems to better counter Iranian drone and missile attacks.

Reuters reported last July that this proposal met with resistance from some Arab countries that do not have official relations with Israel.

An Israeli official said that the participating countries are working to synchronize their systems through remote electronic communications.

And last July, Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic advisor to the President of the Emirates, said that his country is open to anything that protects it from drone and missile attacks, as long as this is of a defensive nature and does not target a third country.