Military and security service personnel strengths | approximately 65,000 active personnel (45,000 Land Forces; 3,000 Navy; 5,000 Air Force; 12,000 Presidential Guard) (2024) |
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Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the military's inventory is comprised of a wide variety of mostly modern imported equipment; over the past decade, the UAE has acquired military equipment from more than 20 countries with the US as the leading supplier; in recent years, the UAE has tried to boost its domestic defense industry (2023) |
Military service age and obligation | 18-30 years of age for compulsory military service for men (compulsory service initiated in 2014); 18-40 for voluntary service; 36-month service obligation for men without a secondary education and 11 months for secondary school graduates; women may volunteer (11-month service obligation regardless of education) (2023). note 1: compulsory service may be completed in the uniformed military, the Ministry of Interior, or other security institutions designated by the military leadership note 2: the UAE military employs a considerable number of foreign personnel on contracted service |
Military deployments | continues to maintain a small force in Yemen; also maintains some troops at military bases in Eritrea and Somalia (Somaliland) (2023). note: in 2015, UAE intervened militarily in Yemen as part of the Saudi-led coalition in support of the Republic of Yemen Government with an estimated 3,500 troops, as well as supporting air and naval forces; UAE withdrew its main military force from Yemen in 2019, but has retained a small military presence while working with proxies in southern Yemen, most notably the Southern Transitional Council (STC) |
Military expenditures | |
Military Expenditures 2023 | 4% of GDP (2023 est.) |
Military Expenditures 2022 | 4% of GDP (2022 est.) |
Military Expenditures 2021 | 5% of GDP (2021 est.) |
Military Expenditures 2020 | 5.6% of GDP (2020 est.) |
Military Expenditures 2019 | 5.4% of GDP (2019 est.) |
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