Themilitary history of the United Arab Emirates describes the military history of theUnited Arab Emirates Armed Forces. Prior to the union of the emirates, differenttribalconfederations formed the de facto military force which was dominant in the area now known as theUnited Arab Emirates. TheBani Yas andAl Qawasim were the most significant of those tribal confederations. The official formation of the military began with the formation of theTruical Oman Levies by theBritish Empire on 11 May 1951 as the area was under a Britishprotectorate.
The Trucial Oman Levies, later renamed the Trucial Oman Scouts, were for a long time the symbol of public order ineastern Arabia and was commanded byBritishofficers. The force was turned over to the United Arab Emirates as its defense forces when the British residency in thePersian Gulf ended and the United Arab Emirates formed in 1971. Prior to the unification of the armed forces, each emirate of the United Arab Emirates was responsible for its own defence. Three major defence forces were formed: the Abu Dhabi Defence Force, Dubai Defence Force, and Ras Al Khaimah Mobile Force. The three later united to form the Federal Defence Force on 6 May 1976 and hence, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces.
The UAE's armed forces have engaged in numerous conflicts and war zones since their inception. The UAE Armed Forces were deployed in theGulf War,Kosovo War,United Nations Operation in Somalia II,War in Afghanistan, enforcing UNSC Resolution 1973 in the2011 Libyan Civil War,2014 military intervention against ISIS in Syria, and theSaudi-led intervention in Yemen.
Prior to the union of the emirates, differenttribalconfederations formed the de facto military force which was dominant in the area now known as the United Arab Emirates. TheBani Yas andAl Qawasim were the most significant of those tribal confederations. The Al Qawasim were a major maritime force in the region, which prompted theBritish Royal Navy to organize several campaigns, such asPersian Gulf campaign of 1809 andPersian Gulf campaign of 1819 and the deployment of ground forces inRas 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 theBritish Residency of the Persian Gulf, theBritish Empire with the assistance of SheikhKhalid 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 theTrucial Oman Levies.[1]
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 a locally raised, British commanded force long considered a symbol of public order inEastern Arabia.
The duties of the TOL as of 1951 were to (1) maintain peace and good order on the Trucial States; (2) prevent or suppress any traffic of slaves (but not slavery itself as this was considered an 'internal affair' by theBritish); and (3) provide an escort for any British political representative traveling in the Trucial States. Their duties were later expanded to include helping maintain law and order and preventing internal tribal conflicts from interfering with the work of oil companies seeking to explore for oil under concessions agreed with the Rulers. The Rulers of the Trucial States were not consulted regarding the formation or establishment of the force and only the Ruler of Sharjah, who rented out the base to be used by the Levies on a 10-year lease, was informed of their establishment.[2]
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, SheikhZayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.[3]
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 attacked emirate. 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 abrigade and was referred to as the Yarmouk Brigade.[3]
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,army,air force, andnaval force were established and the military General Headquarters (GHQ) was formed in the capital Abu Dhabi.[3]
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 theUnited Kingdom'sRoyal Military Academy atSandhurst, with others having attended theUnited States Military Academy atWest Point, theRoyal Military College, Duntroon, andSt Cyr, the military academy ofFrance.
The date of the first death in the line of duty of an Emirati soldier was on 30 November 1971 during theSeizure of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs as is celebrated annually as theCommemoration 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 inMarib area of central Yemen by aTochka missile which targeted a weapons cache and caused a large explosion.[4] All the names of Emirati soldiers who died in the line of duty are inscribed in the UAE Armed Forces memorial, theOasis of Dignity, in the capital Abu Dhabi.
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The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces participated in multiple conflicts, mostly in the Middle East. From 1977 to 1979 the UAE Army contributed 750 men to theArab Deterrent Force peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.[5] During 1990–1991, the Armed Forces participated in the firstGulf War. 10 Emirati soldiers lost their lives in liberating Kuwait.[6] The UAE Armed Forces were also deployed in Eastern Europe and joined NATO'sKosovo 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 the peacekeeping mission in Somalia from 1993 to 1994. 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 inWar in Afghanistan against the Taliban. In March 2011, the UAE joined the enforcement of theno-fly-zone over Libya by sending sixF-16 and sixMirage 2000multi-role fighter aircraft[8] and in 2015 the UAE joined the Saudi-led coalition 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 mandatorymilitary conscription for adult males in 2014. The national service duration is for 11 months and is intended to bolster the United Arab Emiratesmilitary reserve force.[9]
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