Israeli Defense Firm Opens Regional Arm In UAE, First Since Abraham Accords

Via Middle East Eye

An Israeli state-owned defense company has set up a subsidiary to operate in the United Arab Emirates, in the first such move since Israel and Abu Dhabi normalized relations in 2020. 

Controp Precision Technologies will establish and register the subsidiary in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, or ADGM, an economic zone in the Emirati capital. The Israeli defense ministry approved the move on Sunday, the Times of Israel reported.  

The Abu Dhabi-based subsidiary will be Controp’s regional arm in the Gulf region, overseeing marketing, sales and maintenance of its electro-optical systems used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions across air, land and sea.

The Times of Israel reported that at a later stage, Controp will directly compete for defense tenders in the UAE and neighboring countries. 

The UAE normalized ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords in September 2020. Since then, the two countries have strengthened economic and political ties. Trade of goods between Israel and the UAE totalled around $3.2bn in 2024, according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics.

In January, Thirdeye Systems, an Israeli military supplier, sold a 30 percent stake to Emirati state-owned defense conglomerate Edge for $10m.

Relations became somewhat strained after the outbreak of the Gaza war, with the UAE offering occasional condemnations of Israeli actions. In September, Abu Dhabi described an Israeli attack on Hamas officials on Qatar as “treacherous”, using unusually strong rhetoric.

Earlier this month, a number of Israeli defense companies were banned from the Dubai Airshow pending a “technical review”. 

Controp was founded in 1988 to develop and manufacture electro optical control systems for intelligence surveillance. Its camera systems are used in drones, helicopters, land vehicles, surveillance towers and vessels. 

UAE buys land in Israel to establish permanent embassy. pic.twitter.com/87bezGZzxI

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The investment in establishing the UAE subsidiary is estimated to cost up to $30m, according to the Times of Israel. The report added that the subsidiary would be managed by an Israeli citizen, and full control would remain in the hands of the Israeli parent company.