Union Defence Force (UAE)

Union Defence Force القوات المسلحة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة
United Arab Emirates Armed Forces emblem
Founded	1951
Current form	1971
Service branches	United Arab Emirates Army United Arab Emirates Navy United Arab Emirates Air Force
Leadership
Supreme Commander	President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Deputy Supreme Commander	Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Chief of staff	Lt. General Hamad Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithi
Manpower
Military age	18 years
Available for military service	3,658,577, age 15–49
Fit for military service	3,072,125, age 15–49
Reaching military age annually	51,858
Active personnel	100,000 approximately (ranked 64th)
Expenditures
Budget	US$15.7 billion in 2010 (ranked 18th)
Percent of GDP	7.3%
Industry
Foreign suppliers	Colombia  Belgium  United States  Taiwan  Paraguay  Australia  France  Honduras  United Kingdom  South Korea  Russia  Italy  Turkey  Sweden  Peru  Morocco  El Salvador  China  Saudi Arabia  India  Argentina  Pakistan  Germany  Venezuela  Spain  Czech Republic  Uruguay  Romania  Ukraine  Brazil  Canada  South Africa  Egypt  Chile  Poland  Mexico  Malaysia

The Union Defence Force (Arabic: القوات المسلحة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة‎‎) is the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates and has primary responsibility for the defence of all seven emirates. It consists of 65,000 personnel, and is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The Trucial Oman Scouts, long the symbol of public order on the coast and commanded by British officers, were turned over to the United Arab Emirates as the nucleus of its defence forces in 1971.

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 (the former protector of the UAE). 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. France opened the Abu Dhabi Base in May 2009. In March 2011, the UAE agreed to join the enforcement of the no-fly-zone over Libya by sending six F-16 and six Mirage 2000 multi-role fighter aircraft. During the Gulf war, the US had troops and equipment stationed in the UAE as well as other parts of the Persian Gulf.