Global security and aerospace leader Lockheed Martin celebrated the opening of a new state-of-the-art collaboration Center in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, to explore innovation, advance security and help to achieve the UAE’s vision of building a strong resilient economy. The Center for Innovation and Security Solutions (CISS) is the first of its kind outside the United States.

Located in the Incubator Building at Masdar City—Abu Dhabi’s low carbon, sustainable urban development—the Center is a reconfigurable, multi-purpose facility. It will enable cooperation between Lockheed Martin and the UAE Government, industry and academia to develop solutions that address challenges facing today’s world, from climate change to resource scarcity, and advance scientific discovery.

Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the CISS, Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin, highlighted the company’s commitment to enhancing the development of the UAE’s skill-base to deliver economic benefits.

“We value the entrepreneurial, innovative spirit we see in the UAE and the commitment to real-world solutions and progress that Masdar represents,” said Hewson. “We look forward to collaborating on innovations, growing technical expertise and contributing to economic development.”

The CISS is the result of a long-standing partnership between Lockheed Martin and the UAE in programmes that support government, industry and the development of skills. Ten separate projects are underway or in planning.

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Chairman of Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy and clean technology company, said: “By combining Lockheed Martin’s 100 years of technology expertise with Masdar’s holistic approach towards higher education, R&D and technology deployment we will be able to deliver innovations that address the UAE’s most important challenges. The Center will facilitate capacity building and stimulate knowledge transfer by enabling access to Lockheed Martin’s extensive network of laboratories, research facilities and centers of excellence across the globe.”