A BrahMos missile is seen during rehearsals for the 2023 Republic Day Parade at Kartavya Path on January 20, 2023, in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
India is reportedly holding discussions with the United Arab Emirates about a possible sale of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, a weapon developed jointly with Russia. If completed, the deal would add another powerful long-range strike option to Abu Dhabi’s already broad and advanced inventory of standoff weapons.
According to a Reuters report published June 22, New Delhi is also discussing the potential export of its domestically developed Akashteer air defense system to the UAE alongside the BrahMos missile.
The UAE Air Force carried out strikes inside Iran and on Iranian-held islands in the Persian Gulf during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which began on February 28 and ended with a tentative ceasefire on April 8. Citing a May 29 Wall Street Journal report, the targets included Abu Musa and Qeshm islands, the Lavan Island oil refinery, the port city of Bandar Abbas, and the Asaluyeh petrochemical complex, with U.S. and Israeli intelligence reportedly supporting the operations.
UAEAF fighters involved in those missions likely relied on standoff munitions to limit exposure to Iranian surface-to-air missile systems and reduce risks to pilots and aircraft. Despite the country’s small size, the UAE operates a notably capable and diverse air force, centered on its custom-built F-16E/F Block 60 “Desert Falcon” fleet and supported by more than 40 upgraded Dassault Mirage 2000-9 multirole fighters.
The Emirati F-16 fleet can deploy a range of precision-guided weapons for tactical air-to-ground missions, including Joint Direct Attack Munitions, Paveway bombs, and GBU-39 small diameter bombs, which can strike targets from as far as 46 miles away. The Mirage 2000-9s, meanwhile, are equipped for longer-range strike missions, including with the Black Shaheen variant of the Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missile. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s arms transfer database notes that this version has a range capped below 186 miles to align with Missile Technology Control Regime guidelines on range and payload limits.
Both Emirati Mirages and F-16s can also carry the Al Tariq modular guidance kit for Mk 81, Mk 82, and Mk 83 bombs, a system developed with South Africa’s Denel Dynamics and manufactured under license. The UAE’s Edge Group says the extended-range Al Tariq can precisely hit “stationary, moving and re-locatable targets in a GPS denied environment” at distances of up to 75 miles. Abu Dhabi’s future fleet of 80 Dassault Rafale F4 fighters is also expected to employ these UAE-produced guided munitions.
Not all of the UAE’s long-range missiles and munitions are launched from its fighter jets. And without modifications, it’s unlikely the UAEAF’s F-16s, Mirages, or Rafales will carry any Indian BrahMos missiles Abu Dhabi ultimately acquires. India’s primary standoff cruise missile has versions that can be launched from warships, submarines, aircraft, and mobile land-based launchers. It’s likely the UAE will opt for the latter surface-to-surface variant rather than the air-to-surface one. Consequently, these would enhance Abu Dhabi’s already considerable arsenal of surface-to-surface standoff munitions.
From the United States, the UAE has acquired the M57 Army Tactical Missile System, ATACMS, the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, HIMARS, and the M31A1 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, GLMRS. Abu Dhabi even purchased Scud-B ballistic missiles from North Korea in the late 1980s that can hit targets up to 185 miles away, albeit with limited accuracy. The BrahMos would doubtlessly enhance this surface-to-surface arsenal and uphold the UAE’s policy of widely diversifying its advanced military arsenal.
The Iran war saw ties between the UAE and Israel, which established diplomatic relations under the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, strengthen, with Abu Dhabi thankful for Israel’s deployment of Iron Dome air defense systems and troops on its territory. Israel has developed several air-launched ballistic missiles compatible with fighter jets and used them in combat against targets in Syria, Iran, and the controversial strike targeting Hamas leadership members in Qatar’s capital, Doha. The UAEAF could certainly carry such ALBMs, which are faster than the Black Shabeen, although they may come with similar MTCR-related range limitations, which Israeli ALBMs offered for export, such as the Rampage, are in compliance. Whether exceptions could be made for its Arab ally is anybody’s guess.
“The UAE might well be seeking the kind of long-range joint standoff weapons from the Israelis that Israel used on Doha and Iran,” Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the risk intelligence company RANE, told me. “But the procurement would likely be limited, and the UAE would want these weapons for precision strikes on critical targets like key leadership, specific military sites, or military infrastructure related to attacks on the UAE itself.”
Lessons from the Iran war could well influence future Emirati military acquisitions, aside from its enduring diversification policy, which this prospective Indian deal doubtlessly reinforces.
