RTX deepens footprint in UAE with gallium project and counter-drone facility
The American company said gallium has “applications across many different sectors … [for] the defense industry, the supply of gallium is critical as it is a key component of defense products including advanced radars.”
A Raytheon-made LTAMDS radar is presented during Poland’s MSPO 2023 conference. (Barosz Glowacki/Breaking Defense)
BEIRUT — After US President Donald Trump announced a string of high-dollar defense agreements with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, there was relatively muted military-related news out of the United Arab Emirates. But at least one firm, RTX, came away with deeper ties to the small but rich federation.
Trump announced Thursday that RTX had inked a memorandum of understanding with Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) to explore the production of gallium inside the latter’s facility in UAE.
While RTX said gallium has many applications in different industries, for the “defense industry, the supply of gallium is critical as it is a key component of defense products including advanced radars.” Specifically, Gallium is necessary for the compound Gallium Nitride (GaN), which is used in radars as well as Gem-T missiles, part of patriot PAC-3 missile defense system.
“The aerospace and defense industry relies on stable access to rare earth elements,” said Paolo Dal Cin, senior vice president for operations and supply chain at RTX. “Today’s agreement puts us on a path towards a reliable supply of gallium, needed for production of critical aerospace and defense solutions.”
RTX and EGA will initiate a “feasibility study for purity gallium plant at EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery,” RTX said.
“As the world’s fifth-largest aluminum producer in 2024, the UAE is solidifying its role as a key player in global aluminum production,” Leonardo Jacopo Maria Mazzucco, an independent researcher in Gulf security affairs, told Breaking Defense. “Building on this foundation, the MoU aims to position the UAE as the world’s second-largest producer of gallium — a critical mineral used in semiconductors, electric vehicles, medical devices, and telecommunications infrastructure.”
Before the gallium announcement, Raytheon, an RTX subsidiary, inaugurated a facility to manufacture Coyote counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) at Tawazun industrial park in Abu Dhabi.
The 21,500-square-foot facility will host final integration, assembly and testing of Coyote interceptor systems, according to another RTX statement. The announcement comes three weeks after the Tawazun Economic Council signed a term sheet with Raytheon for Coyote interceptor production in the Emirates.
“This facility marks a strategic milestone in the UAE’s vision to establish an advanced defence industrial base,” said Matar Ali Al Romaithi, Sector Chief of Defence & Security Industrial Affairs (DSIA) at Tawazun Council.
The UAE was the last stop in Trump’s Gulf trip where he claimed to have secured more than $2 trillion investments in all, and the defense sector had a considerable chunk of it, including a purported $142 billion in deals with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and $42 billion with Qatar.
In the UAE, observers had waited to see if the trip meant the US administration had made progress with the tangled saga of F-35s for the emirates, but the planes have not appeared to come up in public comments so far.
