Facts on UAE Armed Forces
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The UAE armed forces, which U.S. officials say launched air strikes against Islamists in Libya, has 51,000 members, including 4,500 in the air force, the International Institute for Strategic Studies says.
The army has 44,000 personnel and the navy 2,500, the IISS says in its publication The Military Balance 2014.
They became an integrated military force in 1976, five years after the United Arab Emirates federation was created.
Although relatively few in number, the UAE's armed forces "maintain an extensive array of high quality equipment", the IISS notes.
Like many oil-rich neighbors, the Emirates have spent heavily on advanced weaponry, in particular on air defense with U.S.-made Patriot missiles and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) command and control system.
The IISS credits the air force with 201 "combat capable aircraft", including 138 jets, essentially versions of the U.S. F16 and French Mirage 2000.
The air force has "seen significant investment, with discussions over a potential order of 25 more F16 Block 60s beginning in 2013, and a separate competition to replace the UAE's current Mirage 2000 fleet", it adds.
France has maintained close ties in the defense sector and hopes the UAE will agree to buy the latest-generation of Rafale jets.
In June, the country imposed obligatory military service for the first time for men between the age of 18 and 30, while maintaining it as an option for women.
Foreigners currently account for more than 80 percent of the UAE population, which the CIA Factbook puts at 5.6 million.
In 2011, UAE pilots flew sorties as part of an international coalition in Libya that led to the fall of Moammar Gadhafi's regime.
Abu Dhabi contributed six F16s and six Mirages to that effort.
26 August 2014, 19:21
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only a complete ignorant or deliberate liar would say something like this.
m8 are totally for giving real capabilities to the Lebanese army and have been facing a constant obstruction by m14, acting under orders from the US to not aquire anything that could threaten israel.
the only things we're allowed to get as long as US-puppets paralyze our government is obsolete junk and useless small-fry
27 August 2014, 10:20
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you're completely dellusional, and completely missing the point. yet you think you're in measure to let people "get away" or not, very amusing :)
first, and this is were you totally missed my point, the question is not about the amount of money that can be thrown or not at the army, my point is about the quality of the weapons we're able to get. 3 billion dollars of rusty WWII rifles is less valuable than an s-400 battalion set costing 200million$.
second, the miqati government (who is not m8, at all) didnt have "3 years" but 20 months (less than 2 years) with less than 10 months between may 2012 and miqati's resignation.
knowing every project m8 tried to implement was paralyzed by miqati and his finance goon (safadi) who kept going and coming back from riyadh, it's pretty obvious to see who was behind the obstruction.
27 August 2014, 10:24
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and very simply put, when iran offered to arm lebanon with the most advanced weapons they have. who refused?
if you envy HA's weapons so much, then why not accept the even better weapons iran was ready to offer the LAF? oh i see, that's just a pretext to strip HA from its weapons and place them in some hangar where israel can destroy them easily.
i trust the LAF, but not the sold out politicians in m14 who were in 2006 covertly advising and working for israel and encouraging it to occupy south lebanon. just a slimy pack of snakes.
