The two biggest contracts went to Germany's Rohde and Schwarz Gmbh, which will upgrade the Emirati army's communications system at a cost of 528 million dirhams (144 million dollars), and Italy's Agusta SPA, which will modernize army helicopters at a cost of 261 million dirhams (71 million dollars), UAE military procurement chief Brigadier Obaid al-Ketbi told reporters.

The contracts, modest in comparison with mega deals Abu Dhabi signed to acquire US and French military aircraft in the past few years, are expected to be followed by the announcement of more agreements during the five-day International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2005).

The third biggest deal unveiled Sunday went to Jordan, whose King Abdullah II was in Abu Dhabi to attend the opening of the military show in which more than 900 exhibitors from 50 countries are taking part.

Advanced Industries of Arabia Company LLC will sell the UAE light military vehicles costing 153.7 million dirhams (41.8 million dollars), said Ketbi, who is the exhibition's spokesman.

Rockwell-Collins France will supply navigational systems worth 12.8 million dollars for helicopters, and the UAE will buy electronic systems worth 12.7 million dollars from South Africa's Avetronics Ltd, Ketbi said.

A number of deals went to local firms.

BAE Systems, which is displaying a series of command vehicles and armoured personnel carriers, is hoping to sell the UAE an electronic radar warning system for helicopters, a BAE executive said.

"We are discussing a deal with the UAE, which is still in its early stages, under which it would acquire the HIDAS," or Helicopter Integrated Defence Aids System, said John Hymns, head of helicopter EW campaigns.

The deal, which is not expected to be announced during the exhibition, would be worth roughly 100 million dollars, he told AFP.

Hymns said Kuwait had already signed up to buy the electronic system in a deal worth around 50 million dollars.

The oil-rich UAE, which has a dispute with Iran over three Gulf islands, is due to take delivery in May of the first batch of 80 US-built F-16 Falcon fighters purchased in 2000 for 6.4 billion dollars.

Emiratis are being trained to fly the sophisticated, multi-role "Block 60" fighters both here and in Arizona.

The show, in which arms makers from East and West including US giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin are participating, was opened by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, who is also deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces.

He was flanked by both the Jordanian monarch and UAE Defence Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum, who is the crown prince of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE.

The US delegation to the opening of the seventh edition of IDEX was headed by Rear Admiral Mike Tracy, commander of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group.

US Central Command chief General John Abizaid is due in Abu Dhabi Monday, a US embassy spokesperson told AFP, but it was not clear if he would visit the exhibit.

France sent defence ministry special representative Thierry Borja to the inauguration. Many of the big names in the French defence industry are present at the show, including Giat Industries which sold the UAE more than 400 Leclerc tanks in 1994.

Ministers and defence officials from around the world watched a demonstration of combat and other military vehicles from Europe, the United States, the UAE and Asia during the opening ceremony.

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