| United Arab Emirates Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| القوات المسلحة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة (Arabic) | |
 Seal of the Armed Forces | |
 Flag of the Armed Forces | |
| Founded | May 11, 1951[a] |
| Service branches |  UAE Army UAE Navy UAE Air Force UAE Presidential Guard UAE Joint Aviation Command[1]  UAE National Guard[2] |
| Website | Ministry of Defence |
| Leadership | |
| Commander-in-Chief | Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan |
| Prime Minister & Minister of Defence | Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum |
| Chief of Staff | Lt Gen Issa Al Mazrouei |
| Vice Chief of Staff | Major General Ahmed Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 years |
| Active personnel | 65,000[3] |
| Reserve personnel | 130,000[4] |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | US$24.4 billion (2024) |
| Percent of GDP | 5.6% |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | EDGE Group PJSC |
| Related articles | |
| Ranks | Military ranks of United Arab Emirates |
The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces (Arabic: القوات المسلحة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, romanized: Al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥa li-Dawlat al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabīyyah al-Muttaḥidah) are the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates. They are also occasionally referred to as "Little Sparta", a nickname that was given by former United States Marine Corps General and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, due to their active and effective military role and power projection in the surrounding region compared to their relative size.[5][6]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "United Arab Emirates UAE Joint Aviation Command Ministry of Defen Challenge Coin".
- ^ "United Arab Emirates National Guard Website".
- ^ "Number of active military personnel in the Middle East and North Africa in 2024, by country". Statista. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "Number of reserve military personnel in the Middle East and North Africa in 2024, by country". Statista. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ Chandrasekaran, Rajiv (9 November 2014). "In the UAE, the United States has a quiet, potent ally nicknamed 'Little Sparta'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
- ^ Pollack, Kenneth (27 October 2020). "Sizing up Little Sparta: Understanding UAE Military Effectiveness".