Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter | On the 22nd, China's state-run Global Times quoted an official from

the aviation industry and reported that the L-15 was recently exported to the UAE.

The Global Times said, “The L-15 was exhibited at IDEX23, which opened in Abu Dhabi, UAE on the 16th and runs until the 24,” said the Global Times.

During the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2023) being held in Abu Dhabi, CATIC was able to close the sale of the L-15 advanced trainer for the United Arab Emirates Air Force.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Defense had announced a year ago that it intended to contract

with China’s CATIC for the purchase of 12 L-15 advanced trainer aircraft, with the option for another 36 aircraft of the same model in the future, and that deal was finally closed at IDEX 2023.

The L-15 is an advanced trainer developed by China's Hongdu Aviation Industry Group. The aircraft is

designed for a wide range of training, from novice aviators to expert aviators. The maximum flight speed is

about 1000 km/h and the maximum flight distance is 3100 km. It can be equipped with various armaments,

so it can be used as a light attack aircraft.

The L-15 is an export version, and its domestic version, the JL-10, has been deployed and used by the

Chinese military since 2013.

Meanwhile, the exhibition of Chinese defense products in Abu Dhabi was packed, that has included Y-20

strategic transport aircraft (which features the YU-20 tanker version) and the FC-31 naval stealth fighter, as well as high-performance drones such as the Wing Loong 10A.

Prior to this, in December 2021, the UAE suspended negotiations to purchase advanced weapons from the

United States worth 23 billion dollars (about 30 trillion won), including F-35 fighter jets.

A breakdown in relations between the United States and the Emirate was aggravated by the Biden admini-

stration’s demands that the UAE withdraw Huawei Technologies Co. from its 5G telecommunications network and take other measures to distance itself from China.

On the one hand, the US has been abandoning the geopolitical scenario of the Middle East to focus its efforts on containing Chinese expansion, particularly in the Pacific.

Chinese investments in the Persian Gulf state are considerable, growing year on year, and this distancing from the U.S. is one that Beijing wants to take advantage of to fill the vacant spot as the UAE’s main geostrategic

partner, and as a firm bridgehead to establish its presence in the region.