March 7, 2009: The UAE (United Arab Emirates) are buying two Dash-8 300 twin prop transports (costing about $20 million each) and spending several times that to fit each of them out with several tons of sensors (radar, heat sensor, day/night vidcam with high zoom, plus commo, GPS and electronic countermeasures.) The 19 ton Dash-8 is normally used as a 50 passenger transport. Equipped for maritime reconnaissance, the aircraft can stay in the air for over six hours. Several other nations already use the Dash-8 for maritime patrol, and are quite pleased with the price and performance. The UAE version will, however, have the most elaborate electronics suite.