Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates
The Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates ( Arabic القوات المسلحة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, DMG al-Quwāt al-Musallaḥa li-Dawlat al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabīyyah al-Muttaḥidah ) essentially consist of the Union Defense Force (UDF), which is made up of an army (44,000 men), a navy (2,500 men) and an air force ( 4,000 men). The Emirate of Dubai has two mechanized infantry brigades that are not integrated into the UDF. The UAE had a military budget of 22.8 billion with a GDP of 5.7 in 2016.
history
The United Arab Emirates have been a federation of seven autonomous emirates since 1971/72. The Union Defense Force was founded in 1971. Three of the emirates also have their own armed forces, which the UDF calls regional commands:
- Abu Dhabi Defense Force : 15,000 Air Force and Navy personnel, until 1976, now Western Command
- Dubai Defense Force : 20,000 infantry, until 1996, now Central Command
- Ras al Khaymah Defense Force : 9000 men, until 1996, now Northern Command
The Union Defense Force and the armed forces and the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ra's al-Khaimah and Sharjah were officially merged in 1976, the command was established in Abu Dhabi. However, Dubai has practically retained its independent resources in full.
During the Syrian Civil War (as of 2014) the UAE air force supported the USA in bombing positions of the terrorist organization "Islamic State" .
During the civil war in Libya since 2014 , the UAE Air Force supported the troops of the internationally recognized government in 2014.
organization
In absolute numbers, the size of the armed forces of the UAE (approx. 50,500 men in 2005) can be compared with the size of the armed forces of the Netherlands or Canada . Entry into the army is voluntary; there is no conscription . The almost entirely male staff is around 70% local.
The commander-in-chief of the UDF is the ruler of Abu Dhabi , Sheikh Chalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan . Since he suffered a stroke in January 2014, his brother Muhammad bin Zayid Al Nahyan has been in command of the UDF. Defense Minister is Sheikh Muhammad bin Raschid Al Maktum , the ruler of Dubai.
The USA has a central role to play in the defense policy of the UAE . An agreement ratified in 1996 allows them to store military material and use airfields . Alongside France , the USA is also one of the main arms suppliers. UAE soldiers and officers regularly practice in US military facilities.
equipment
The equipment of the armed forces is (as of 2011) only interoperable to a limited extent, the reason is the desired high "glitter factor" in the "procurement policy": The newest and best on the market is bought, often without regard to the compatibility of the new weapons with the devices already purchased. The military, like the rest of society, is very much characterized by a two-class structure: It consists of foreign mercenaries on the one hand and local officers on the other. Due to a lack of trust in the foreign mercenaries, they were not assigned officer posts or strategically important tasks. The proportion of foreigners (especially Pakistanis ) in the army is comparatively high at 30%.
The military is also shaped by rivalries between the Emirates as well as by strong family ties between the ruling families and the officer corps . The emirate of Dubai has a special role with around 15,000 military personnel. The behavior of the UAE in the international community with regard to human rights is ambivalent. You have not acceded to a number of important arms control agreements, e.g. B. the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines. In contrast to a number of Arab states, they have ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention.
army
According to statistics from 2004, the army had around 500 battle tanks and 1,250 armored vehicles .
In 2005, the UAE ordered 32 Fuchs armored vehicles (order volume € 160 million, around US $ 205 million). The price included training and certain spare parts. The UAE are among the largest buyers of the German arms industry ; In the period 1999–2009, armaments worth more than € 1.5 billion were purchased. In 2009 the UAE was the second largest customer with a volume of € 540.7 million.
structure
The army is divided into the following brigades :
- 1 Guard Brigade
- 2 tank brigades
- 3 Brigades of Mechanized Infantry
- 2 infantry brigades
- 1 artillery brigade (divided into 3 regiments )
In addition, the emirate of Dubai has 2 brigades of mechanized infantry under its own responsibility.
vehicles
artillery
-
Denel G6 ( South Africa ) - 72
-
M109 ( United States ) - 87
-
AMX-13 Mk F3 SPG ( France ) - Sept.
-
BM-21 degree MLRS ( Russia ) - 48
-
BM-30 MLRS ( Russia ) - 6
-
L118 105mm Light Gun ( United Kingdom ) - 55
Air Force
The forerunners of the UAE Air Force were the Abu Dhabi Army Air Force, founded in 1968, and the Dubai Defense Force Air Wing .
The airborne units, with headquarters in Abu Dhabi , are divided into three multipurpose squadrons (1st, 2nd, 3rd) equipped with the F-16E / F aircraft, three multipurpose squadrons with the Mirage 2000, a transport and helicopter squadron (1 squadron C-130 , 1 squadron CN-235M , 1 squadron Puma helicopter , 1 squadron (6th) AB.412 and 2 squadrons AH-64D, SA.342L, AS.550C3), a flying school (MB.339 , G115TA, “Hawk”) and a group (18.) Special Forces (CH-47, EC155, “Twin Otter”, “Grand Caravan”). In addition, Dubai maintains a fighter-bomber / trainer squadron (102nd) ("Hawk").
The UAE Air Force, united in 1999, had the following equipment in 2007/2008:
Mariam al-Mansuri (* 1979) is the first female fighter pilot in the air force of the United Arab Emirates.
Air defense
The air defense is divided into two anti-aircraft brigades, each with three anti-aircraft battalions:
- 3 battalions with I-HAWK
- 3 battalions with various short-range air defense systems ( 9K310 Igla-1 , RBS-70 , Javelin , Mistral , Rapier , Crotale )
The following equipment is available:
-
40mm Bofors gun ( Sweden )
-
Self-propelled Rapier Gun ( United Kingdom )
-
Panhard M3-VDA with 20 mm double mount ( France ) - 42
marine
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The UAE Navy has eight major combat ships:
- 1 corvette of the Abu Dhabi class
- 4 Baynunah- class corvettes (2 more under construction)
- 2 Corvettes of the Muray Jib class
such as
- 8 missile speedboats of the Mubarraz class
- 1 Falaj-2- class patrol boat
- 2 minesweepers of Frankenthal class
In addition, the Navy still has 10 landing craft and a larger number (as of 2012: 101) of patrol boats .
literature
- BICC : Information service for security, armaments and development in recipient countries of German arms exports. Country portrait United Arab Emirates . Status: June 2011, online as PDF .
Web links
Footnotes
- ↑ welt.de September 23, 2014: Obama attacks IS in Syria with an Arab alliance
- ↑ spiegel.de August 26, 2014: War of the Sheikhs
- ↑ BICC : Information Service on Security, Armaments and Development in Recipient Countries of German Armaments Exports. Country portrait United Arab Emirates . Status: June 2011, PDF ( memento of October 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), p. 3.
- ↑ Jane's Defense Weekly 2007: The UAE are preparing for their first 16 "foxes"
- ↑ BICC, p. 6f.
- ↑ Federal Ministry of Economics: Armaments Export Report 2009. Status: January 2011, online as PDF ( Memento from December 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), p. 22. Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
- ^ Information from the Austrian Ministry of Defense
- ↑ UAE To Upgrade 135 BMP-3 Armored Infantry Vehicles . Defense-Update.com. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
- ↑ Flight International , 11. – 17. November 2008, p. 74, DIRECTORY: WORLD AIR FORCES, as of November 2008.
- ↑ www.globaldefence.net (as of April 1, 2012) ( Memento from December 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
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