By Xinhua,
Abu Dhabi : A senior official of the Defense Ministry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said that the ministry plans to launch a joint remote-sensing satellite with other member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), local newspaper Gulf News reported on Tuesday.
The plan was revealed by Brigadier Khalifa Mohammad Al Rumaithi, Chief of Military Works of the UAE Armed Forces, at the Defense Geospatial Intelligence Middle East opened on Monday in Dubai.
But the official did not elaborate on the plan, saying the project of the joint remote-sensing satellite has come a long way.
In addition to the joint remote-sensing satellite, Rumaithi said that the UAE’s first satellite DubaiSat-1 will be launched bythe end of 2008 for peaceful purposes and civil applications.
DubaiSat-1 will provide data for infrastructure development, rural and urban development planning, management of natural disasters and provision of accurate maps, he added.
Established in 1981, GCC is regional political and economic bloc that consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.