International Military Markets Middle East & Africa

摘要

This month's supplement contains annual updates for the International Military Markets Middle East & Africa service. Please see the Recent Activity section at the end of the Highlights for additional coverage of the Middle East & Africa market.rnScramble for the African Defense Market. With defense spending among African nations expected to surpass $48.6 billion by 2018, global defense firms have started to eye the African market more closely. This has sparked an intense competition between non-African companies while opening up an array of possible joint ventures and technology transfer agreements with African firms.rn"The scramble for the African defense market has just begun, and it will continue over the next decade," said Col. Joseph Sibanda, a retired Army officer in Zimbabwe and now a defense analyst, during an interview in September 2013. As terrorism, Islamic militant activity and maritime crime rise, state-of-the-art systems to improve mobility and surveillance are in high demand. Sibanda believes that these will include more patrol ships, surveillance aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles.