#Uae

In recent years, UAE in general, and Dubai in particular became known as a luxury travel destination and a great place to do business in the Middle East. I was lucky to closely watch the advancement of the UAE in the last 20 years, and the question of UAE gun culture has always fascinated me. Now, UAE is one of the safest countries in the world, both in terms of crime and terrorism threats, but it was not always the case.

In the last 30 years, we witnessed how easy it is for a country to lose its firearms manufacturing capability: the UK, France, Portugal, and Spain are prime examples. And building such a capability from scratch is extremely difficult, and UAE and “Caracal” seems to be one of the few successful examples. Founded in 2007, “Caracal” develops and manufactures handguns, sniper rifles, and perhaps their most well-known product – CAR 816, a select-fire short-stroke gas piston AR15 variant chambered in 5.56×45.

ADIHEX, the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition, is an annual event, that of course skipped 2020, happening by September in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The show focuses on traditional outdoor activities of the region, including hunting. In the area dedicated to firearms, this year, the Emirati-owned Liwa Arms made its official debut.

Subject: Photo Of The Day

We saw already a few items from EDIC Caracal at IDEX back in February, and again the UAE based company plays at home in ADIHEX. In this hunting oriented event, the German subsidiary Merkel was part of the Caracal booth as well, with some high-end models.

Available to those transiting through or vacationing in Dubai is the tucked away gem of the Dubai Museum and Al Faidi Fort. The museum tells the story of the pre-historic surroundings and the small hamlet that would eventually become the sprawling metropolis that is the Dubai of today. Although the museum itself is an all-encompassing history of the local region, there are a number of displays that pay particular attention to the small arms in use during the late 1800s and early 1900s. If you have limited time in Dubai, certainly enjoy the beaches and the Burj Khalifa, but if you want to see some historical small arms and a bit of Dubai’s journey into the 21st Century, I would highly recommend checking the museum out. Admission is 3 AED for adults and 1 AED for children.

On April 12, 2018, during the Defexpo 2018 exhibition (Chennai, India) Caracal International of UAE and MKU Corporation of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning strategic partnership which will ultimately result in the licensed manufacturing of the Caracal CAR 817AR rifles in India.

In today’s episode, we follow Miles to Shot Show 2018 Media Day at the Range and visit Caracal USA.

The Firearm Blog would like to extend its thanks to reader and contributor Giorgio, who lent his journalistic services to us at this years IDEX conference in Abu Dhabi in February. Thanks, Giorgio!

The Firearm Blog would like to extend its thanks to reader and contributor Giorgio, who lent his journalistic services to us at this years IDEX conference in Abu Dhabi in February. Thanks, Giorgio!

Earlier on TFB we reported that POF had increased their ammunition production in Pakistan three-fold. We speculated that rising security concerns might have been the cause for this but this has turned out to perhaps not be the case at all. This week at IDEX 2017 , POF released a statement that indicated a very dramatic increase in sales to the UAE and MENA region in general (through Abu Dhabi). Essentially POF is forcasting doubling all of their sales to the region for the next year. The article additionally mentions that POF will try to push “affordability and technological upgrades” as a prime company offering. Although the Pakistani state owned weapons company might not be providing DARPA with the latest and greatest, I can see a niche that POF can occupy in catering to militaries that don’t have budgets like the United States and Russia, but still want technological upgrades to keep up with the competition. On top of this projection, POF has signed a letter of understanding with Beretta on importing and selling Beretta products in Pakistan. Beretta’s ARX-200 was in competition for the Pakistani’s next service rifle, but appears to have lost out to CZ. This understanding with Beretta, if not for military and LE needs, might just be for civilians, as the shotgun sporting industry in Pakistan is very relevant. Along with the CZ deal, and POF’s prior agreement with Fiochi, international business has been relatively good at POF.

Gone is the Caracal CC10 pistol caliber carbine from the UAE-owned company’s website, but in its place is a new, modern-looking submachine gun called the CMP9. This new weapon features integral 1913 rail mounting points on its aircraft-grade aluminum receiver, and a wraparound telescoping bolt system using the blowback principle. From Aftermath Gun Club:

TFB’s IDEX 2015 coverage is courtesy of Giorgio, who traveled to Abu Dhabi for the show, and provided all photos and information.

The UAE’s only gun manufacturer, Caracal International, have developed their first rifle. The Caracal Sniper Rifle (CSR) is a bolt action chambered in either .308 Win. or .300 Win. Mag.