UAE Launches Joint Armed Forces Exercise To Boost Combat Readiness; Presidential Guard Included

The United Arab Emirates launched a joint armed forces exercise on Saturday as part of the government's efforts to boost combat readiness among its military personnel, the ministry of defense announced Sunday.

The news of the 2023 Joint Emirates Shield exercise came a day after the Emirates joined hands with France and India to establish a trilateral initiative to expand cooperation on defense.

The exercise was part of a series of operational drills that seek to improve preparedness in the UAE's Armed Forces major units.

The Joint Operations Command of the UAE's Ministry of Defense announced the launch of the Joint Emirates Shield/51 military exercise on Sunday, Gulf News reported. Before the exercise's launch was announced, the first phase of drills already kicked off Saturday night.

All armed forces units on the air, land and sea are taking part in the military drills, including the elite Presidential Guard (UAE-PG).

The first phase of the drills, which was led by the airborne forces, was concluded with success, Commander of the Joint Operations Maj. Gen. Saleh Mohammed bin Mujren Al Ameri said, as per The National.

"All mobilization duties were completed within the specified time, despite high risks in the operations environment," Al Ameri said.

During last year's Joint Emirates Shield/50, the military drills lasted for five days. At the time, Al Ameri said the exercise reflected "a true translation for the advanced level notched by the UAE Armed Forces."

"We bet on our military capabilities, which have become the focus of attention and appreciation of the world, thanks to the directives and unswerving follow-up by the UAE wise leadership," Al Ameri said at the time, Khaleej Times reported.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the interior ministers of the UAE, India and France had in a phone call decided to embark on cooperative projects including defense, solar and nuclear energy.

The three governments in a joint statement agreed to promote collaboration and training between the nations' defense forces. They also agreed to undertake efforts in improving joint development in terms of defense.

"It was acknowledged that defense is an area of close cooperation between the three countries. Therefore, efforts will be undertaken to further promote compatibility, and joint development and co-production, whilst seeking out avenues for further collaboration and training between the three countries' defense forces," the French government said in a press release.

Aside from the cooperation initiative with France and India, the UAE has also discussed defense cooperation with Belarus.

Belarus' chief of the International Military Cooperation Department Valery Revenko met with the UAE's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Belarus Ibrahim Salim Mohamed Almusharrekh in mid-January to talk about topics related to international and regional security, BelTA reported.

The UAE's armed forces have been working to improve cooperation and coordination between different units, as was previously discussed between the ministries of Interior and Defense in September.