UAE’s NIMR successfully produced 1000 armoured vehicles

NIMR Automotive, the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) leading armoured vehicle producer, rolled out its 1000^th vehicle last week (15 June) at the Tawazun Industrial Park in Abu Dhabi.

The 1000^th vehicle was from its AJBAN 440A line, a lightweight armoured utility vehicle.

NIMR Automotive’s CEO, Dr. Fahad Saif Harhara, commemorated the achievement by stating that “NIMR Automotive today achieved an important milestone in UAE’s history … [and] established a modern production system that delivers consistent quality and high volumes.”

Comment and Analysis

NIMR Automotive is a company of Tawazun Holdings, an “active industrial investor” that in recent years has succeeded in creating a defence industry base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A private sector entity, Tawazun has grown through the proliferation of partnerships with overseas vendors, particularly Denel in South Africa.

In November 2015, NIMR Automotive and Denel Vehicle Systems signed a $63 million U.S. contract to produce Denel’s RG-35 mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle platform under license at NIMR’s facilities in the UAE. The technology transfer process (to enable NIMR to produce the vehicle using a localized manufacturing and supply chain network) is scheduled to take two years.

NIMR Automotive – and Tawazun in general – is an example of private sector defence industry growth. From the onset, Tawazun’s investors have focused on comparatively low-capital and low-risk programs such as light armoured vehicles and munitions, and procured the technology through technology transfer arrangements and partnerships. Denel is a well-matched partner; the company possesses technology and the capacity to develop new solutions, but its lack of a domestic customer base or sustained government funding prevents it from easily bringing new big-ticket items to production.