United Arab Emirates Navy

The United Arab Emirates Navy is small force of about 2,500 personnel. It maintains 12 well-equipped coastal patrol boats and eight missile boats. Although primarily concerned with coastal defense, the Navy is constructing a six-unit class of blue water corvettes in conjunction with French shipbuilder CMN.[2] The UAE maintains a small battalion-sized marine force called the UAE Marines equipped with BMP-3 armoured personnel carriers.

United Arab Emirates Navy
دولة الامارات العربية المتحدة
Founded1971
Country United Arab Emirates
BranchNavy
RoleNaval warfare
Size10,000 personnel[1]
Part ofUnion Defence Force
Garrison/HQAbu Dhabi
Equipment9 corvette 2(u/c)
29 patrol craft 2(u/c)
8 fast attack craft
2 Minehunter
31 Landing craft
Insignia
Ensign

Swedish shipbuilder Swede Ship Marine have built four 24 m Amphibious Troop Transport Vessel and one 25 m Fast Supply Vessel for the UAE Navy (delivered between 2003 and 2005).[3] Three additional vessels are being built by Swede Ship Marine for the UAE Navy (see Future Navy).

History

The origins of the UAE Navy begin with the Abu Dhabi Defence Force (ADDF) which established a Sea Wing in 1967. The initial fleet gave Abu Dhabi a limited brown-water patrolling and protecting capability in the waters of the Persian Gulf and in the littoral region of the Northern Emirates in the Gulf of Oman. This included protection of the UAE's significant offshore oil and gas facilities.[4]

With the formation of the United Arab Emirates on 2 December 1971 and the unification of the UAE Armed Forces on 6 May 1976, the ADDF Sea Wing became the UAE Navy and continued to expand with naval facilities at Abu Dhabi port in 1975 as well as other facilities at the far west of Abu Dhabi Emirate and on the eastern coast of Fujairah at Khor Fakkan.[5]

The Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and especially the 1986 'tanker war' in the Persian Gulf culminated in the 25 November 1986 attack of Abu Dhabi's Abu Al Bukhoosh offshore oil platforms by Iranian aircraft. These incidents led to further expansion of the UAE's Navy assets in this period.[6]

The 1990s and 2000s saw further consolidation. In 2001, the UAE Coast Guard, which had been under the control of the UAE Ministry of Interior since 1976, was transferred to the control of the Navy. This change was likely in response to increased concern over the possibility of terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure in the UAE's littoral zone and on its islands in the post-9/11 world, and the effectiveness of the Coast Guard in countering this threat.[7] Another change in the Navy's force structure in the 2000's was the expansion of its amphibious capability and the formation of the UAE Navy Marines (subsequently merged with the UAE Presidential Guard).[8]

Since 2015, the UAE Navy has been operating in the Yemen region in response to the Civil War there.

Equipment
See also: List of naval ships of the United Arab Emirates

Vessels
Class Type Photo Number of Ships Notes
Gowind-class corvette corvette 0+(2) ordered 2 ships ordered on 25 March 2019 from Naval Group
2,700 tonnes, 102 m (335 ft)
Propulsion: CODAD
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph)
1 × OTO Melara 76 mm main gun
2 × Nexter Narwhal 20mm cannon

8 × Exocet anti ship missile
possibly 2 × triple torpedo launcher[9]

Abu Dhabi-class corvette corvette 1 1,650 tons,88m length
1 × Otobreda 76 mm Super Rapid gun
2 × remote controlled 30 mm guns
4 × MM40 Block 3 Exocet anti-ship missiles
1 helicopter carried.[10][11][12][13]
Baynunah class corvettes corvettes 6 930 tons, 71m length
1 × Otobreda 76 mm Super Rapid gun

2 × Rheinmetall MLG 27 27 mm guns
21x RIM-116 RAM SAM
8 × MM40 Block 3 Exocet anti-ship missiles
1 AS-565 helo (based on the CMN Group's Combattante BR70 design).[14]

Muray-Jib corvettes 2 630 tons, 63m length
1 × 76 mm
1 × 30 mm gun 
1X8 Crotale SAM
8 MM-40 SSM
1 - SA 316 Helicopter[15]
Falaj 2 class patrol vessel Offshore Patrol vessel 2+(2) ordered 550 tons, 55.7m length
1x Otobreda 76 mm
2x VLS for VL MICA
2 twin launcher for MM40 Exocet block iii
2x 12.7 machine gun in hitrole RWS
2 more in built.
Arialah-class offshore patrol vessel 2 67m length
1 x 57mm
2 x 30mm guns
RAM missile system[16]
Mubarraz class fast attack craft 2 260 tons full load / 44.9 metres length - 4 MM-40 SSM - 1 × 6 Mistral SAM - 1 × 76 mm and 2 × 40 mm guns — commissioned 1990
Ban-Yas (Lürssen TNC-45) fast attack craft 6 TNC 45 fast attack craft - 260 tons full load / 44.9 metres length - 4 MM-40 Block III SSM - 1 × 76 mm and 2 × 40 mm guns — commissioned 1980-1 - will be upgraded to Mubarraz class
Ardhana class patrol craft 6 175 tons full load — commissioned 1975-6
Unknown patrol boats, fast 20 4 tons
Frankenthal minehunter 2 1 damaged by Houthi attack[17]
Al-Quwaisat-class LST[18] landing ship tank 2
Unknown landing craft tank 7
Unknown Landing Craft Utility 5
Unknown LCP 4
Ghannatha fast attack landing crafts 12 will be upgraded to Gnannatha Phase II class[19]

Leased

Future Navy

Till 2014 will be commissioned 12 Ghannatha Phase II class fast missile landing crafts. First unit was be launched in July 2012.[19] Other 12 will be upgraded from Ghannatha Phase I class[15]

4 Falaj 2 class patrol vessel (based on the Italian Diciotti class) on order, 2 being fitted out - 550 tons - 4 MM-40 Exocets - 6 Mica VL SAM (2 more to be produced with 2 more in the future, grand total 8)

One 26 m Offshore Patrol Vessel, one 24 m Amphibious Troop Transport Vessel and one 24 m Patrol Vessel is under construction for the UAE Navy.[3]

See also

Further reading

References
  1. IISS 2009 The Military Balance 2010
  2. "United Arab Emirates". state.gov. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Yates, Athol (2020). The Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates. Warwick: Helion & Company. p. 209. ISBN 9781912866007.
  5. Yates (2020). The Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates. p. 212.
  6. Yates (2020). The Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates. p. 263.
  7. Yates. The Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates. p. 265.
  8. Yates (2020). The Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates. p. 267.
  9. UAE, Naval Group quietly cut $850 million deal for Gowind ships, Christina Mackenzie, Defense News, 2019-06-11
  10. "Fincantieri to build U.A.E. corvette". United Press International. 19 August 2009.
  11. "Fincantieri".
  12. "Marina Militare: cooperazione Italia - Emirati Arabi Uniti". www.difesa.it.
  13. "Abu Dhabi class ASW Corvette - UAE Navy(navy recognition)". February 13, 2013.
  14. Navyrecognition (12 February 2014). "World Defence News: Abu Dhabi Ship Building delivers Al Hili, sixth and last Baynunah class Corvette to the UAE Navy". worlddefencenews.blogspot.com. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  15. "United Arab Emirates" (PDF). www.inss.org.il. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  16. "New UAE patrol ship presents a striking profile". Defense News. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  17. Trevithick, Joseph. "Houthi Rebels In Yemen Attacked Another UAE Ship and That's All We Know For Certain". The Drive.
  18. "MRSS As Well, Plan B Shorts - Malaysian Defence".
  19. "В ОАЭ спущен на воду первый ракетный катер национальной постройки". flotprom.ru. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  20. "VIDEO: HSV Swift hit by missile attack - Marine Log". marinelog.com. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
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