Middle east defense: Emirates invest billions to stay on top in Persian Gulf.

• Author: Tiron, Roxana

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates--Infusing billions of dollars into defense programs, this small Persian Gulf nation--in the shadow of Iran--is vastly increasing its military power.

The United Arab Emirates not only is purchasing jet fighters, tanks, ships and air-defense systems, but it also is beefing up its nuclear, biological and chemical defense capabilities, communications and early warning systems, while satisfying its insatiable need for trucks and armored vehicles, said Brigadier Staff Obaid Al Ketbi, one of the top UAE armed forces procurement officials.

In order to tie all its military resources together and be capable of rapid response, UAE officials are working on a joint-service logistics concept, Ketbi told National Defense.

"It will be an integrated joint logistics system for all the armed forces," he said. While the army, navy, coast guard and air force, with an estimated total of 60,000 personnel, are trained to operate together, "logistics still has to be worked on," he said. "We are trying to speed the process for joint logistics to be able to follow the operational side."

Military planners also take into account the government's desire to strengthen the domestic industrial base and build a close relationship with the private sector, Ketbi explained.

The UAE has worked on this project with Australia, which also is looking to adopt a concept for joint logistics, said Ketbi. UAE officials visited the United States to observe how logistics is conducted jointly. "I have to say that we are a little bit ahead," he observed.

With a flexible acquisition strategy, the UAE--which now has reached a gross domestic product of $93.6 billion--for years has opened its defense market to cutthroat competition from companies around the world. The UAE market is open to all competitors, Ketbi said. "We have specific requirements, and always try to acquire the best equipment that suits those requirements. This reflects the myriad of equipment from all over the world."

Terrorism concerns are determining the country's procurement and military training, said Ketbi. "Terrorism could come as a direct threat, electronic threat, [or] in the form of bombs," he said. "We are focusing on training to deal with all these scenarios." There is a lot of work and cooperation going on in this area, not only in the UAE, but in all the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

The threat of weapons of mass destruction has...