“We are hopeful that we will pass the figure tomorrow,” Brig Gen Al Hassani said.
Other local companies that picked up sizeable contracts were Al Tuff International and MBDA UAE, which secured deals worth Dh136.6m each.
US-based Northstar Aviation also won a contract worth Dh224m.
The UAE Ministry of Defence and the Tawazun Economic Council signed an agreement to establish and organise research and development planning and execution on behalf of the defence and security sectors.
The ministry will handle defence and security policymaking while Tawazun will manage defence and security R&D programmes in the UAE.
“Based on our analysis of the existing ‘in-country’ capabilities, the R&D portfolio will include a range of short and long-term projects – from basic and applied research to prototypes and product development to achieve our national objectives," said Tawazun chief executive Tareq Al Hosani.