United Arab Emirates Armed Forces

A falcon was added to the original Trucial Oman Levies insignia to signify the union of the seven emirates and formation of a united force.

Prior to the union of the emirates, different tribal confederations formed the de facto military force which was dominant in the area now known as the United Arab Emirates. The Bani Yas and Al Qawasim were the most significant of those tribal confederations. The Al Qawasim were a major maritime force in the region, which prompted the British Royal Navy to organize several campaigns, such as Persian Gulf campaign of 1809 and Persian Gulf campaign of 1819 and the deployment of ground forces in Ras Al Khaimah to control the trade routes the Al Qawasim dominated. With the signing of the 1820 General Maritime Treaty between the British and the tribal sheikhs and the commencement of the British Residency of the Persian Gulf, the British Empire with the assistance of Sheikh Khalid III bin Muhammad al-Qasimi endeavored to form a unified paramilitary force based in Sharjah to suppress the slave trade and prevent tribal conflicts. The paramilitary force was named the Trucial Oman Levies.[5]

The current United Arab Emirates military was formed from the historical Trucial Oman Levies which was established on 11 May 1951. The Trucial Oman Levies, which were renamed the Trucial Oman Scouts in 1956, were considered a long symbol of public order in Eastern Arabia and were commanded by British officers from the British Empire. The Trucial Oman Scouts were turned over to the United Arab Emirates as the nucleus of its defense forces in 1971 with the formation of the UAE and were absorbed into the newly formed united military called the Union Defence Force (UDF). The Union Defence Force was established officially as the military of the United Arab Emirates on 27 December 1971 from a directive issued by the UAE's founding father and first president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.[6]

As the Union Defence Force, every emirate was responsible for the equipment and training of its own defence forces. In the event of an attack on any one of the seven emirates, the Union Defence Force would be mobilized from every emirate to defend the emirate under attack. In 1974 the name was changed to the Federal Armed Forces. On 6 May 1976, the Federal Armed Forces were unified as a single body. This was considered a historic event and a large milestone in the military of the United Arab Emirates. May 6 is celebrated annually as the Military Union Day. As a result of the union of forces, the number of personnel formed a brigade and was referred to as the Yarmouk Brigade.[6]

After the union of the armed forces in 1976, the Yarmouk Brigade was officially renamed the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces. The three largest emirates defence forces which originally formed the Federal Armed Forces, Abu Dhabi Defence Force, Dubai Defence Force, and Ras Al Khaimah Mobile Force, were converted into three major military bases/zones for the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces. In 1976 the official UAE Armed Forces insignia, uniform, military academies, air force, and naval force were established and the military General Headquarters (GHQ) was formed in the capital Abu Dhabi.[6]

Although initially small in number, the UAE armed forces have grown significantly over the years and are presently equipped with some of the most modern weapon systems, purchased from a variety of outside countries, mainly France, the US and the UK. Most officers are graduates of the United Kingdom's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, with others having attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and St Cyr, the military academy of France.

The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces participated in multiple conflicts, mostly in the Middle East. During 1990–1991, the Armed Forces participated in Gulf War. 6 Emirati soldiers lost their lives in liberating Kuwait. The UAE Armed Forces were also deployed in Eastern Europe and joined NATO's Kosovo Force peacekeeping mission undertaking aid missions to thousands of fleeing refugees on the Albanian border. This was the first time Emirati troops uniform was switched to the woodland camouflage compared to their regular home desert camouflage.[7] The UAE Armed Forces also participated in peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and Somalia. The UAE Armed Forces is also the only Arab country to commit troops to maintain security and participate in humanitarian aid missions to Afghanistan. The Emirati special Forces, the Presidential Guards, were deployed to maintain security in War in Afghanistan against the Taliban. In March 2011, the UAE joined the enforcement of the no-fly-zone over Libya by sending six F-16 and six Mirage 2000 multi-role fighter aircraft[8] and in 2015 the UAE joined the Saudi-led coaltion intervention in Yemen by sending 30 UAEAF F16 Desert Falcons to Yemen. The intervention was followed by Emirati ground troops deployment in Southern Yemen mainly focusing on targeting terrorist cells such as the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State.

The UAE introduced a mandatory military conscription for adult males in 2014 of 16 months to expand its reserve force.[9] The date of the first death in the line of duty of an Emirati soldier was on 30 November 1971 during the Seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs as is celebrated annually as the Commemoration Day. The highest loss of life in the history of the UAE military occurred on Friday 4 September 2015, in which 52 soldiers were killed in Marib area of central Yemen by a Tochka missile which targeted a weapons cache and caused a large explosion.[10] All the names of Emirati soldiers who died in the line of duty are inscribed in the UAE Armed Forces memorial, the Oasis of Dignity, in the capital Abu Dhabi.

United Arab Emirates Honor Guard

There is one unified military structure across the UAE. The military forces consist of an Army, Navy, Airforce, and the Presidential Guard (PG) Special forces.

Four Emirates maintained their own forces prior to the unification of the defence forces. Three were theoretically merged into the Union Defence Force in 1976, but in practice remained under emirate control and procured weapons separately for some time after.

• Abu Dhabi Defence Force – Formed in 1965 by order of Sheikh Shakhbut Al Nahyan and commanded by Major Edward 'Tug' Wilson.[14] The officer corps were mainly British and Jordanian. Although not initially an operational force of consequence,[14] by 1975 it had grown to 15,000 men with two squadrons of Dassault Mirage III fighters and Dassault Mirage 5 attack aircraft, a squadron of Hawker Hunter fighter-bombers, 135 armoured vehicles, Rapier and Crotale missiles, Aérospatiale Alouette III and Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopters, and a sea defence wing of four fast patrol boats.[15] The ADDF became the Western Command of the UDF in 1976.
• Dubai Defence Force – Formed in 1971, by 1975 the DDF had 3,000 men with Ferret and Saladin armoured cars.[15] It later expanded to 20,000 men in one infantry brigade group, Aermacchi MB-326 ground attack aircraft and MBB Bo 105 helicopters. The DDF became the Central Command of the UDF in 1996.
• Ras al-Khaimah Mobile Force – Formed in 1969, it initially had 300 men with Ferret and Saladin armoured cars, organised into one armored squadron and two infantry squadrons. It eventually expanded to 9,000 men. It became the Northern Command of the UDF in 1996.

In addition, the Sharjah National Guard was formed in 1972. It was essentially a paramilitary force of 500–600 men with Shorland armoured cars. It merged with the Federal Police in 1976.[15]

A UAE Armed Forces Special Ops soldier assigned to Special Operations Task Force-West, patrols villages in Afghanistan on 7 April 2011.

UAEAF crew chief communicating during an engine test at Nellis Air Force Base during Red Flag 11-2 on 2 February 2011

UAE Army BMP-3 conducting live fire desert training

It dispatched an infantry battalion to the United Nations UNOSOM II force in Somalia in 1993, it sent the 35th Mechanised Infantry Battalion to Kosovo, and sent a regiment to Kuwait during the Iraq War. In addition, it helps protect the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz. It is a leading partner in the campaign against terrorism, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas. The UAE military provides humanitarian assistance to Iraq.

• NIMR
• Jobaria Defense Systems Multiple Cradle Launcher
• Caracal pistol
• Enigma APC
• Adcom Systems

UAEAF C-17A Globemaster III

In 1989, UAE purchased Scud-B ballistic missiles from North Korea.[36] The UAE went on an expansion drive in 1995, which began with the 1992–93 acquisition of 436 Leclerc tanks and 415 BMP-3 armoured vehicles. It had learned from the Iranian experiences with having a single supplier for its military and has diversified its arms purchases, purchasing weaponry mainly from Russia, the United States, the UK, Ukraine, France, Italy and Germany. It has also taken care to invest in the systems it has purchased and standardise them according to NATO/GCC Specifications.

The equipment purchases was also followed by a programme to increase manpower numbers and Emiratisation programme for the Armed forces. Presently (2005) almost all pilots in the UAE Air Force are UAE nationals, with the restriction of non-nationals to certain positions in the instruction and maintenance divisions of the airforce. More nationals are being trained to fill these ranks, with programmes such as the Technical Trainee Project underway to try to fill the technical jobs in the country.

There has also been a qualitative shift in the Personnel in the armed services, with expert instruction being brought in from around the world, refinement of local military training institutions and the increase in standards across the armed forces. In 2008, the UAE bought MIM-104 Patriot missiles[37] and related radar, support services for the Patriot systems. There has been work concurrently on the Hawk systems, the Patriots predecessor, currently in use by the UAE.

In the last days of 2011, during a war scare with Iran over the Straits of Hormuz, the UAE announced a purchase of US$3.48 billion worth of American missile systems: 2 radar systems, 96 missiles, spare parts and training.[37] The UAE was the first country to acquire the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD). A contract worth $1.96 billion was agreed for Lockheed Martin Corp to supply two Thaad anti-missile batteries.[38]

In November 2019, South Africa blocked supply of arms to United Arab Emirates, Oman, Algeria, and Saudi Arabia following a dispute in the inspection clause of its agreement. According to a report by Reuters, the UAE and the other mentioned countries refused to allow officials from South Africa to inspect their facilities. The dispute arose as the UAE and the other countries refused the inspections, stating it violated their sovereignty. According to the industry, the inspection row puts business at risk and could cause the loss of up to 9,000 jobs at defense firms and supporting industries in South Africa. UAE began firing trials with China, India, and Serbia to replace the South African RDM as preferred supplier of ammunition.[39]

Battle tested Emirati manufactured APC Nimr restored from Operation Decisive Storm on display in IDEX 2017

The UAE has begun to produce a greater amount of military equipment in a bid to reduce foreign dependence and help with national industrialisation. The Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding company (ADSB) produces a range of ships and are a prime contractor in the Baynunah Programme, a programme to design develop and produce 5–6 corvettes customised for operation in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf. It has also produced and is producing ammunition, military transport vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles.

In 2007, the first small arm ever produced in UAE, the Caracal pistol, was introduced at IDEX. It became the official sidearm of the UAE armed forces and security forces. The National Guard of Bahrain adopted it shortly thereafter. Jordan ordered an unspecified number of pistol in April, 2008 during SOFEX, the Special Forces Exhibition held in Jordan. UAE and Algeria established on 17 November 2008 a joint committee in order to test the Caracal pistol for further adoption by Algeria.

A joint venture agreement was signed in Abu Dhabi on 28 November 2007 between Tawazun Holding LLC, an investment company established by the Offset Program Bureau (OPB), Al-Jaber Trading Establishment, part of Al-Jaber Group, and Rheinmetall Munitions Systems, to set up the Al-Burkan munition factory at the Zayed Military City in Abu Dhabi.

The OPB signed four Memorandums of Understanding with leading companies from Europe and Singapore at the Paris Eurosatory 2008 defence exhibition on June 20, Rheinmetall Group and Diehl Defence Holding of Germany, Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engg), and Thales of France.

Tawazun has also partnered with Saab on radar development.[40]

• 1999: $2,100,000,000 (1.8% of gross domestic product)
• 2000: $2,600,000,000 (0.8% of gross domestic product)
• 2005: $3,800,000,000 (1.0% of gross domestic product)
• 2010: $10,000,000,000

• 
  United Arab Emirates F-16 Block 60 taking off after taxiing out of the Lockheed Martin plant in Fort Worth, TX (NAS Fort Worth JRB)
• 
  Several Emirati Air Force Mirage 2000s over Afghanistan in 2008
• 
  A United Arab Emirates Navy Super Puma helicopter
• 
  Emirati Leclerc tank

• Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain
• Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen

• Britain, the UAE, and the defence of the Gulf revisited, International Affairs (journal), September 2013
• Victor Gervais, Du Petrole a l'armee: Strategies de construction de l'Etat aux Emirats Arabes Unis, Paris: IRSEM, 2012
• The Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates by Athol Yates https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evolution-Armed-Forces-United-Emirates/dp/1912866005

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Military of the United Arab Emirates.

• Official government.ae page

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document: "2003 edition".