The oil-rich Gulf state's military said it inked a 511 million-dollar contract for 25 Swiss Pilatus PC-21 basic-training aircraft and a 223 million-dollar deal for two Swedish Saab 340 early warning planes.

Several pilot-training simulators come with the Pilatus purchase, while the Saab 340s are to be delivered in 2010 and 2011, when the PC-21s are due also to arrive.

The deals came amid a scattering of orders for new civilian aircraft secured mainly by European manufacturer Airbus, followed by its US arch-rival Boeing which did not make any announcements on the Airshow's past two days.

Air Algerie, a Boeing client for 40 years, placed an order for seven of its B737-800 jets, the US manufacturer said on Tuesday.

The value of the deal was not disclosed, but is expected to range between 493 million dollars and 553 million dollars, according to catalogue prices.

Boeing also confirmed an order for four B737s by the Algeria-based Tassili Airlines. The order was first announced in July in Algiers by the domestic carrier, which put the value of the deal at 228.4 million dollars.

Airbus meanwhile announced that Air Austral, a carrier based in the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, confirmed an order for two Airbus A380 superjumbos and took an option for two more.

The European manufacturer also announced a memorandum of understanding with Nepal Airlines for the purchase of a mid-range A320 plane and a long-haul A330 jet.

The MOU includes an option for four more planes -- one A330, two A320s and a fourth whose type has yet to be determined, Nepal Airlines chief Sugat Ratna Kansakar told reporters.

Brazilian aircraft-maker Embraer received an order for five mid-range single-aisle E175 aircraft worth 177 million dollars from Oman Air, the Gulf sultanate's flag-carrier.

Dubai Airshow organisers said the total value of the event's order book climbed to 8.3 billion dollars before the UAE military announcement.

The figure remains very modest compared with the sales announced at the previous edition of the Middle East's largest aviation event, which totalled 155.5 billion dollars, according to organisers.

In 2007, Airbus and Boeing alone bagged orders and letters of intent for 458 planes, worth more than 75 billion dollars, mostly from Gulf carriers.

Meanwhile, Airbus opted during the show to highlight its environmental concerns by pointing to its efforts to use alternative fuels in the industry blamed for its contribution to global warming.

Airbus engineering programme manager for alternative fuels, Ross Walker, said the European aircraft-maker conducted its first test of an aircraft using a 50-50 mix of Gas-to-Liquid and kerosene in one engine in 2008.

It also hoped to conduct a test flight of an A320 burning a 50-50 mixture of biomass-to-liquid and kerosene mixture some time next year.

"If we get the right sources, it is possible that 15 percent of the world's jet fuel will come from sustainable sources by 2020, and 30 percent will come from sustainable sources by 2030," Walker said.

He described algae, which can be grown in salt water, as a promising source of biomass for alternative fuels. "We believe this is the golden chalice we've been looking for."

"If an area the size of the United Arab Emirates were planted with algae, it could produce enough bio jet fuel to support the world's civil aviation industry," he said.

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