The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, Al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥa li-Dawlat al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabīyyah al-Muttaḥidah) are the armed forces of the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

. The armed forces have been deployed in military and humanitarian missions. Owing to their "active and effective military role despite their small personnel", the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces have been nicknamed "Little Sparta" by

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

General and former US defense secretary

James Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 26th US secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. During his 44 years in the Marine Corps, he commanded forces in the Per ...

History

The United Arab Emirates military was formed from the Trucial Oman Levies which was established on 11 May 1951 and were renamed the Trucial Oman Scouts in 1956. 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 UAE and were absorbed into a 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

Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, زَايِد بِن سُلْطَان آل نَهْيَان, Zāyed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati politician, statesman, and philanthropist who served as ...

. 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. 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 A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...

and was referred to as the Yarmouk Brigade. After the union of the armed forces in 1976, the Yarmouk Brigade was officially renamed 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 Abu Dhabi. UAE Armed Forces are equipped with weapon systems purchased from a variety of outside countries, including France, the United States and the United Kingdom. Some officers are graduates of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, with others having attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state ...

, and St Cyr, the military academy of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces participated in multiple conflicts, including the ones in the Middle East. From 1977-1979 the UAE Army contributed 750 men to the Arab Deterrent Force peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. During 1990–1991, the Armed Forces participated in the first

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. 10 UAE soldiers lost their lives in liberating Kuwait. UAE Armed Forces were deployed in Eastern Europe and joined NATO's

Kosovo Force The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO-led international peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Its operations are gradually reducing until Kosovo's Security Force, established in 2009, becomes self sufficient. KFOR entered Kosovo on 11 June 1999, two days ...

peacekeeping mission undertaking aid missions to thousands of fleeing refugees on the Albanian border. This was the first time UAE troops uniform was switched to the woodland camouflage compared to their home desert camouflage. UAE Armed Forces participated in the peacekeeping mission in Somalia from 1993-94. The UAE Presidential Guards were deployed to maintain security in

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

against the Taliban. In March 2011, UAE joined the enforcement of the no-fly-zone over Libya by sending six

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

and six

Mirage 2000 The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force ('' ...

multi-role fighter aircraft and in 2015 joined the Saudi-led coalition intervention in Yemen by sending 30 UAEAF F16 Desert Falcons to Yemen. The intervention was followed by UAE ground troops deployment in Southern Yemen focusing on targeting "terrorist" cells such as Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Islamic State. UAE introduced a mandatory

military conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

for adult males in 2014 of 16 months to expand its reserve force. The date of the first death in the line of duty of an UAE soldier was on 30 November 1971 during the

Seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs The seizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by the Imperial Iranian Navy took place on 30 November 1971, shortly after the withdrawal of British forces from the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, all located ...

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 when 52 soldiers were killed in Marib area of Yemen by a

Tochka OTR-21 ''Tochka'' (russian: оперативно-тактический ракетный комплекс (ОТР) «Точка» ("point"); en, Tactical Operational Missile Complex "Tochka") is a Soviet tactical ballistic missile. Its GRAU desi ...

missile which targeted a weapons cache and caused an explosion. Names of UAE soldiers who died in the line of duty are inscribed in the UAE Armed Forces memorial, the

Oasis of Dignity In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentFreedom of Information Act revealed that in seven years nearly 280 American military veterans sought federal permission to work for the Emirates. Hundreds of US military veterans were also known to have been hired by the UAE government or state-owned firms. Experts claimed that the Emirati military was the Arab world's most powerful due to influx of American veterans. UAE ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba said the US played a crucial role in the Emirates' progress and security. However, the extent of Emirati dependence on the US military contractors is not fully known.

Branches

Air Force

The

United Arab Emirates Air Force The United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAEAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية والدفاع الجوي الاماراتي, al-Quwwāt al-Jawiyah wa al-Defa' al-Jawiy al-ʾImārāty) is the air force of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), part of the U ...

has about 4,000 personnel as of 2017. The air force agreed in 1999 to purchase 80 US

multirole fighter aircraft. Other equipment includes 60

s, British

Hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfa ...

aircraft, and French

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

s. The air defense has a Hawk missile program for which the United States has been training. UAE has taken delivery of two of five Triad I-Hawk batteries. * United Arab Emirates Air Defence Force is responsible for civil defense aircraft and protecting the country's airspace.

Army

As part of the military of United Arab Emirates, the Army (called Land Forces in Arabic) is responsible for land and ground based operations. *Medical Corps form part of the Army and are responsible for military medical support to the rest of UAE Armed Forces.

Navy

The United Arab Emirates Navy consisted of more than 2,000 personnel and 72 vessels. *United Arab Emirates Marines – UAE maintained a battalion-sized Marine force called UAE Marines until 2011 when it was merged into UAE-PG. * United Arab Emirates Coast Guard – a coast guard agency of United Arab Emirates and is primarily responsible for the protection of UAE coastline through regulation of maritime laws, maintenance of seamarks, border control, anti-smuggling operations and other services.

Presidential Guard

The United Arab Emirates Presidential Guard (UAE-PG) was formed in 2011 by merging the Amiri Guard, Special Operations Command, and the Marine Battalion from the UAE Navy. UAE requested training support be provide by the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). The U.S. State Department approved a foreign military sales (FMS) Training Case for UAE-PG in October 2011. Marine Corps Training Mission UAE (MCTM-UAE) operates under chief of mission authority as a Title 22 FMS training case.

Deployments

United Arab Emirates Air Force serviceman

Gulf War

UAE sent forces to assist

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

during the 1990–1991

where some hundred UAE troops participated in the conflict as part of the GCC Peninsula Shield force that advanced into Kuwait City. UAE air force carried out strikes against Iraqi forces. UAE Armed Forces participated in the coalition with an army battalion along with a squadron of

Dassault Mirage 5 The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s and manufactured in France and a number of other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter and spawned seve ...

and

. 6 UAE troops were killed in action.

United Nations Operation in Somalia II

UAE Armed Forces participated in UNOSOM II which was an intervention launched in March 1993 until March 1995, and committed resources to the United Nations mission.

Lebanon

UAE Military field engineers arrived in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

at 8 September 2007 in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

for clearing areas of south Lebanon from mines and

cluster bombs A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehic ...

War in Afghanistan

UAE Armed Forces were deployed in 2003 to Afghanistan mainly to support construction. UAE special forces would establish fire support base around UAE supported projects which included funding tarmac roads, clinics, a Pashtun radio station and a mast provided by Etisalat which provided competition for other mobile networks in

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...

. Their activities include driving into "remote and impoverished" Afghan villages, distributing aid and sitting down with the village "elders" to inquire about their needs. They would then fund projects while the contracts went out to local tender. UAE Armed Forces used their ties to Islam and ability to fund projects to try to reduce the local suspicion of NATO in Afghanistan.

Saudi led intervention in Yemen

In 2015, UAE participated in the

Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Saudi may refer to: * Saudi Arabia * Saudis, people from Saudi Arabia * Saudi culture, the culture of Saudi Arabia * House of Saud The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is ...

to influence the outcome of the Yemeni Civil War (2015–). On 4 September 2015, 52 UAE soldiers (together with 10 Saudi and 5 Bahraini soldiers) were killed when a

Houthi The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...

missile hit an ammunition dump at a military base in

Ma'rib Governorate Marib ( ar, مَأْرِب, Maʾrib) is a governorate of Yemen. It is located 173 kilometers to the northeast of Yemen's capital, Sana'a. The population of Marib Governorate comprises 1.2% of the country's total population. The city of Marib is ...

, marking the "highest death toll on the battlefield in the country's history". In 2016, during the Battle of Mukalla, UAE Armed Forces liberated the

port of Mukalla The Port of Mukalla is a key Yemeni seaport. The port is the only maritime port in Hadramout overlooking the Arabian Sea. History The current port of Mukalla was opened in January 1985. Location The port is located in Mukalla, the cap ...

from AQAP forces in 36 hours after being held by AQAP for more than a year with the US defense secretary James Mattis calling the UAE led operation a model for American troops. In 2018, the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

in a report mentioned that UAE struck deals with AQAP militants by recruiting them against fighting the Houthis and providing them with money. The report continued to state that the United States was aware of Al-Qaeda joining ranks with UAE and has held off drone strikes against Al-Qaeda. UAE Brigadier General Musallam Al Rashidi responded to the report by stating that Al Qaeda cannot be reasoned with in the first place stating that "There's no point in negotiating with these guys." The UAE military stated that accusations of allowing AQAP to leave with cash contradicts its primary objective of depriving AQAP of its financial strength. The notion of Al Qaeda joining ranks with UAE Armed Forces and the United States holding off drone strikes against Al Qaeda has been denied by

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metonym ...

with Colonel Robert Manning, spokesperson of the Pentagon, calling the news source "patently false". According to The Independent, AQAP activity on social media as well as the number of reported attacks conducted by it has decreased since UAE intervention. On 30 April 2018 the UAE armed forces, as part of the Saudi-led intervention in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...

, landed troops on the island of

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen� ...

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

newspaper reported that UAE has politically annexed the island and built a communications network, and conducted census and provided Socotra residents with free healthcare and work permits in Abu Dhabi. On 14 May 2018, a deal was brokered between UAE and Yemen for a joint military training exercise and the return of administrative control of Socotra's airport and seaport to Yemen. In June 2018, an offensive was carried out by UAE-led troops in

Hodeidah Al-Hudaydah ( ar, الْحُدَيْدَة, al-ḥudayda), also transliterated as Hodeda, Hodeida, Hudaida or Hodeidah, is the fourth-largest city in Yemen and its principal port on the Red Sea. As of 2004, its population was 402,560 and it is ...

. In June 2019, UAE announced a partial withdrawal of its troops by reducing armed forces fighting in

. An official from UAE called the move a "strategic" redeployment. According to a

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

report, the gulf nation ordered the withdrawal of its troops following security concerns, after tensions with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

. UAE stated that it is shifting its focus from Houthi rebels to

ISIS Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic language, Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughou ...

and

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

in Yemen.

Islamic State

In 2015, UAE Air Force dropped bombs on Islamic State targets in Syria. One of them was Major Mariyam Al Mansouri, the first female UAE Air Force pilot.

Expansion

United Arab Emirates Air Force, 1227, Boeing C-17A Globemaster III (49570885887)

In 1989, UAE purchased Scud-B ballistic missiles from North Korea. UAE went on an expansion drive in 1995, which began with the 1992–93 acquisition of 436

Leclerc tank The Leclerc is a List of main battle tanks by generation#Third generation, third generation French main battle tank developed and manufactured by Nexter Systems. It was named in honor of Marshal of France, Marshal Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocq ...

s and 415

BMP-3 The BMP-3 is a Soviet and Russian infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. The abbreviation BMP stands for ''boevaya mashina pehoty'' (, literally "infantry combat vehicle"). Production history The design of the 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 Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, the UK,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. 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. In 2008, UAE bought

MIM-104 Patriot The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar compon ...

missiles and related radar, support services for the Patriot systems. In 2011, during a war scare with Iran over the

Straits of Hormuz The Strait of Hormuz ( fa, تنگه هرمز ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' ar, مَضيق هُرمُز ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the ...

, UAE announced a purchase of US$3.48 billion worth of American missile systems: 2 radar systems, 96 missiles, spare parts and training. 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. In November 2019,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

blocked supply of arms to

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

, and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

following a dispute in the inspection clause of its agreement. According to a report by

, UAE and the other mentioned countries refused to allow officials from South Africa to inspect their facilities. The dispute arose as 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.

Industry

The Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding company (ADSB) produces a range of ships and is a contractor in the Baynunah Programme, a programme to design develop and produce 5–6 corvettes customised for operation in the waters of the Persian Gulf. It has produced ammunition, military transport vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles. 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. OPB signed four Memorandums of Understanding with 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 partnered with Saab on radar development.

References

External links

UAE Ministry of Defence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Of The United Arab Emirates

War scare