Sunday, December 27, 2009

UAE's Ballistic Missiles

In 1989 the DPRK (North Korea) concluded an arms sales agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A $160 million deal included 25 Hwasong 5 missiles, self-propelled artillery, multiple-rocket launchers, and munitions. The UAE was not pleased with the quality of the Hwasong 5; the systems were never operational in UAE service and were quickly placed in storage. UAE officials view the missiles as a “problem” and are currently discussing how to dispose of them. The US State Department found the SCUD's to be an obstacle in the F-16E/F procurment drive but in the end the matter was solved and the deal completed. 20 years later the fate of the SCUD's is unknown but presumably they have been destroyed.