The UAE Air Force in 2026: Every Aircraft It Flies, and the 80 Rafales Still to Come

The United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defence flies about 135 fighters of two types: 76 F-16E/F Block 60 Desert Falcons, a version Lockheed Martin built to the UAE’s own requirements, and 59 French Mirage 2000-9s. Both counts come from FlightGlobal’s World Air Forces 2026 directory.

Behind them sits a support fleet most air forces its size do not have: five GlobalEye radar planes, five A330 MRTT tankers and eight C-17s. In 2026 the whole system went to war, as the UAE’s Ministry of Defence reported intercepting 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles and 2,265 drones fired from Iran.

This guide ranks every type the UAE flies by how much it matters to the country’s defense as of October 2026, then covers the 80 Rafales on order, the war with Iran, the bases and the questions readers ask most.

Rank	Aircraft	Role	Fleet	Status
1	Lockheed Martin F-16E/F Block 60	Multirole fighter	76 (55 E, 21 F)	In service
2	Dassault Mirage 2000-9	Multirole fighter	59 (44 single-seat, 15 two-seat)	In service, 30 earmarked for Morocco
3	Boeing AH-64D/E Apache	Attack helicopter	30	In service, more on order
4	Saab GlobalEye	Airborne early warning	5	In service
5	Airbus A330 MRTT	Tanker and transport	5	In service
6	Boeing C-17A Globemaster III	Strategic airlifter	8	In service
7	Sikorsky UH-60L/M Black Hawk	Utility helicopter	80	In service
8	Boeing CH-47C+/F Chinook	Heavy-lift helicopter	28	In service
9	Lockheed C-130H and L-100 Hercules	Tactical airlifter	8	In service, C-390s ordered
10	IOMAX Archangel	Light attack and surveillance	24	In service
11	Hongdu L-15	Advanced jet trainer	6, plus the display team	Deliveries continuing
12	Pilatus PC-21	Advanced turboprop trainer	25	In service

1. Lockheed Martin F-16E/F Block 60: The Desert Falcon

The F-16E/F is the UAE’s main fighter and its biggest combat fleet. The UAE ordered 80 of them, and Lockheed Martin says the UAE Air Force “defined specific requirements” for a new version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon that its engineers then built.

The type first flew in December 2003. UAE pilots began training on it at Tucson, Arizona, in September 2004, and the first Desert Falcons based in the UAE arrived on May 3, 2005.

FlightGlobal counts 76 in service, 55 single-seat F-16Es and 21 two-seat F-16Fs, while Janes put the fleet at 78 in March 2026. They fly with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Shaheen squadrons at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi.

The jets have seen more combat than most Gulf fighters. Six deployed to Italy for the Libya operation in 2011, and six more flew close air support in Afghanistan from 2012 to 2014, according to the Congressional Research Service.

In March 2026 they turned on drones. A video that surfaced on March 9 shows a UAE F-16E/F flying slow and low behind a Shahed-type drone and firing an AIM-9 Sidewinder at it, The Aviationist reported.

2. Dassault Mirage 2000-9: Kept at Home by the War

The Mirage 2000-9 is the UAE’s version of the French Mirage 2000-5 Mk2 family. FlightGlobal lists 59 in service, 44 single-seaters and 15 two-seat 2000-9DADs, and Janes counted 62 in March 2026.

The Mirages flew in the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen from 2015. On March 14, 2016, a UAE Mirage 2000-9 crashed in Aden, killing both pilots, which the coalition blamed on a technical fault.

The fleet was supposed to be winding down by now. Military Africa reports that 30 Mirages were due to go to Morocco by 2027 as the Rafale arrived, but that UAE leaders decided in February 2026 to keep them at Al Dhafra because of the war with Iran.

The UAE confirmed that Mirages were scrambled against Iranian drones during the war. A Safran engine support contract signed at the IDEX show in February 2025 suggests the jets will keep flying for years yet.

3. Boeing AH-64D/E Apache: Drone Hunters With 30 mm Guns

The UAE’s 30 Apache attack helicopters belong to the Joint Air Command, which runs the country’s military helicopters, rather than to the air force itself. FlightGlobal lists 10 more AH-64Es on firm order and 29 as an option.

In 2026 the Apache found a new job. On March 8, the UAE Ministry of Defence released footage of eight Shahed-type drones being shot down, and The Aviationist identified the shooters as Apaches using their chin-mounted M230 30 mm guns.

A slow helicopter with a gun is a cheap answer to a slow, propeller-driven drone. It saves interceptor missiles, which the UAE was firing in the hundreds.

4. Saab GlobalEye: Five Flying Radars

GlobalEye puts Saab’s Erieye ER radar on a Bombardier Global 6000 business jet. The UAE ordered two in 2015 for $1.3 billion, a third in 2017 and two more in 2021, and Saab delivered the fifth and last in September 2024.

They replaced two smaller Saab 340 Erieye planes bought in 2009, which went back to Saab in December 2020 and were later sold on to Poland. For an air force facing low-flying drones and cruise missiles, a radar that looks down from altitude is worth more than another fighter.

5. Airbus A330 MRTT: Five Tankers

The UAE signed for three A330 MRTT tanker-transports in 2008, and the first arrived in February 2013. Two more were ordered at the Dubai Airshow in November 2021 for about $670 million.

The fourth was delivered at Al Ain in November 2024, and FlightGlobal’s 2026 table lists all five as active. Without them, the F-16s and Mirages could not stay airborne for long patrols or fly distant strikes.

6. Boeing C-17A Globemaster III: Eight Heavy Lifters

The UAE flies eight C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifters, the same number as Qatar. They carry the outsize cargo that the smaller Hercules cannot.

7. Sikorsky UH-60L/M Black Hawk: The Biggest Single Fleet

With 80 aircraft, the Black Hawk is the most numerous type in UAE military service, all of them flown by the Joint Air Command. The fleet mixes the older UH-60L with the newer UH-60M.

Helicopters carry the human cost of the war. On March 9, 2026, a UAE armed forces helicopter crashed and killed two service members, and the Ministry of Defence blamed a technical malfunction rather than enemy fire.

8. Boeing CH-47 Chinook: 28 Heavy-Lift Helicopters

FlightGlobal lists 28 Chinooks, a mix of upgraded CH-47C+ models and the modern CH-47F. They move troops, artillery and supplies that the Black Hawks cannot lift.

9. Lockheed C-130H and L-100 Hercules: Due for Replacement

Eight Hercules, a mix of military C-130Hs and civilian-model L-100s, still handle tactical airlift. Seven Airbus C295s fly alongside them on lighter loads.

Their successor is on order. On May 4, 2026, the UAE signed for 10 Embraer C-390 Millennium transports with an option on 10 more, making it the largest export customer for the C-390 and its first in the Middle East, The Aviationist reported. No delivery dates were announced.

10. IOMAX Archangel: 24 Armed Turboprops

The UAE flies 24 IOMAX Archangels and 16 Air Tractor AT-802s, armed turboprops that FlightGlobal lists as combat aircraft. They do cheap patrol and strike work that would waste an F-16’s flight hours.

A homegrown replacement is coming. Calidus, a UAE company, won an order for 24 B-250 light attack aircraft at the 2019 Dubai Airshow, worth about $620 million, though Janes reported in February 2025 that a separate 40-aircraft trainer order had not been finalized.

11. Hongdu L-15: The Chinese Trainer in a US-Armed Air Force

The UAE announced on February 23, 2022, that it would buy 12 Chinese Hongdu L-15 jet trainers, with options for 36 more. FlightGlobal’s 2026 table shows six in service and six more on order, plus the 36 options.

The purchase drew attention because it came while the UAE was negotiating for the F-35 with Washington, and commentators warned it could put that deal at risk. The UAE went ahead anyway.

12. Pilatus PC-21: The Step Before the Jets

Student pilots at the Khalifa bin Zayed Air College in Al Ain train on 25 Pilatus PC-21 turboprops, ordered in 2009. The training fleet also includes 31 older Pilatus PC-7s and 12 Grob G115s.

From the PC-21, students move to jets. FlightGlobal still lists 12 BAE Hawk 102s alongside the new L-15s and the two-seat F-16Fs and Mirages that convert pilots to fighters.

The Rest of the Fleet

Special-mission work falls to two Global 6000 reconnaissance jets, two Dash 8 and two Challenger 650 maritime patrol aircraft, and 13 Cessna 208 and three DHC-6 Twin Otter reconnaissance planes flown by the Joint Air Command.

Beyond the Black Hawks and Chinooks, the helicopter fleet includes 12 AS565 Panthers, eight H215M Super Pumas, 29 Bell 407s and smaller numbers of AW139s, Bell 412s and H145s. Another 25 Bell 407 and 505 training helicopters are listed under Horizon International.

Drones are not in FlightGlobal’s count. The UAE received its first 20 armed Bayraktar TB2s from Türkiye in September 2022, and Chinese Wing Loong II drones were spotted over Iran during the 2026 war, according to open-source researchers. Our ranking of the best military drones in the world puts them in context.

On Order: 80 Rafales and an F-35 Deal on Ice

The biggest change coming is the Dassault Rafale. The UAE ordered 80 Rafale F4s on December 3, 2021, alongside 12 H225M Caracal helicopters, a package the French presidency put at about 17 billion euros.

Dassault presented the first UAE Rafale, a two-seater, at Istres, France, on January 29, 2025. It stayed at Dassault’s flight test center, and first deliveries to the UAE are scheduled for the end of 2026. We found no report of a Rafale arriving in the UAE as of mid-October.

The relationship has had friction. In April 2026, La Tribune reported that the UAE had pulled out of co-funding the next Rafale standard, the F5, after France refused to share some technology. The two countries renewed their defense pact on May 19, 2026.

The F-35 is another story. A $23 billion package of 50 F-35s, 18 MQ-9B drones and munitions was agreed in 2020, but on December 14, 2021, the UAE said it would suspend the talks, and US concerns over Chinese technology such as Huawei networks were still blocking it in late 2025.

The War That Tested the UAE Air Force

The United States and Israel struck Iran on February 28, 2026, and Iran began firing missiles and drones at the UAE the same day. The first wave targeted US bases in Abu Dhabi, including Al Dhafra.

By March 9, the Ministry of Defence counted 253 ballistic missiles and 1,440 drones, and by May 10 it said its air defenses had intercepted 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles and 2,265 drones since the conflict began. Those are the ministry’s own figures, and we found no independent tally.

Not everything was stopped. Strikes and falling debris hit Al Minhad Air Base, the Ruwais refinery, the port of Fujairah and gas facilities at Habshan, and killed two service members, a civilian contractor and 12 civilians, according to Wikipedia’s running count of the war.

Allies sent help. France flew Rafales over the UAE to protect its bases from March, Egypt deployed Rafales in May, and Israel sent an Iron Dome battery with IDF operators, its first deployment of the system abroad, Axios reported.

Whether the UAE hit back is disputed. Iran accused it of striking an oil refinery on Lavan Island around the April 8 ceasefire, and The Wall Street Journal later reported UAE strikes on Iran. The UAE has neither confirmed nor denied it, and Reuters could not verify the reports.

The ceasefire has not ended the work. On August 31, 2026, the UAE said its air force intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters. How Iran’s own aging fleet fared is in our guide to Iran’s air force.

Missiles Do Most of the Defending

The “Air Defence” in the force’s name is a large part of the job. The UAE operates THAAD, Patriot, South Korea’s KM-SAM (Cheongung II), Israel’s Barak-8, Russia’s Pantsir-S1 and the Skyknight short-range system.

The UAE was THAAD’s first foreign customer. On January 17, 2022, after Houthi drones hit fuel trucks in Abu Dhabi and killed three people, a UAE THAAD battery shot down a medium-range ballistic missile, the system’s first known use in combat, Defense News reported.

KM-SAM got its own combat debut in 2026. A South Korean lawmaker said in March that the system hit about 29 of roughly 30 targets assigned to it, a figure from one politician rather than an official tally.

Where the UAE Air Force Flies From

Al Dhafra Air Base holds almost the entire fighter fleet. It is also home to the US Air Force’s 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, there since January 2002, which hosted the first US F-35 deployment to the Middle East in April 2019.

France has its own corner of Al Dhafra, Air Base 104, opened in 2009, where French Rafales of the 1/7 Provence squadron have been based since 2016. The French air force’s own fleet is in our guide to the French Air Force.

Al Safran, a newer base deep in the Abu Dhabi desert, was built so that the fighters would not all sit at one airfield and houses Mirages. Al Minhad, near Dubai, is a helicopter base shared with Australian and British forces, and Al Bateen in Abu Dhabi has been home to the transport wing.

How Strong Is the UAE Air Force?

Strong for a country of its size, and experienced. Global Firepower’s 2026 index counts 581 military aircraft for the UAE, 18th in the world, although it counts only 99 fighters, fewer than the 135 in FlightGlobal’s tables.

Few Gulf air forces have flown combat in Libya, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen. In 2014, Maj. Mariam al-Mansouri, the UAE’s first female air force pilot, led a strike mission against ISIS in Syria, the UAE’s ambassador to the US said at the time.

The UAE has what Qatar lacks: its own tankers and radar planes, which our guide to Qatar’s air force identifies as that fleet’s biggest gap. Its weakness is age: its newest fighter type arrived in 2005, and Rafale deliveries are expected to run until about 2031. The commander as of 2026 is Maj. Gen. Staff Rashid Mohammed Al Shamsi.

FAQ

What fighter jets does the UAE have?

Two types as of October 2026: 76 F-16E/F Block 60 Desert Falcons and 59 Mirage 2000-9s, according to FlightGlobal’s World Air Forces 2026 directory. Janes counts 78 and 62. The UAE has also ordered 80 Rafale F4s, with first deliveries scheduled for the end of 2026.

Does the UAE have F-35s?

No. The UAE agreed a package of 50 F-35s in 2020 but suspended the talks in December 2021, and US concerns over Chinese technology in the UAE were still blocking the deal in late 2025. We found no restart of the talks through October 2026.

Does the UAE have the Rafale?

It has 80 on order but none in the country yet. The UAE ordered 80 Rafale F4s on December 3, 2021, and the first, a two-seater, was presented in France in January 2025. First deliveries to the UAE are scheduled for the end of 2026. The Rafales seen over the UAE during the 2026 Iran war were French and Egyptian.

What are the US bases located in the UAE?

The main one is Al Dhafra Air Base near Abu Dhabi, home to the US Air Force’s 380th Air Expeditionary Wing since January 2002. US forces also use the port of Jebel Ali in Dubai, which the Congressional Research Service calls the US Navy’s busiest port of call, and facilities at Fujairah.

What are the UAE's defense systems?

The UAE operates THAAD, Patriot, South Korea’s KM-SAM, Israel’s Barak-8, Russia’s Pantsir-S1 and the Skyknight short-range system. The Ministry of Defence says these intercepted 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles and 2,265 drones fired from Iran between February 28 and May 10, 2026.

Can I join the UAE military?

National service is mandatory for medically fit Emirati men and optional for Emirati women, under Federal Law No. 6 of 2014. Men with a high school diploma serve 11 months and those without one serve three years, and women who volunteer serve 11 months. Future air force pilots train at the Khalifa bin Zayed Air College in Al Ain.

How strong is the UAE Air Force?

Strong for its size. Global Firepower’s 2026 index counts 581 military aircraft for the UAE, 18th in the world, and the force has its own tankers and airborne early warning planes. It has flown combat in Libya, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen, and defended against thousands of Iranian drones and missiles in 2026.

What aircraft does the UAE aerobatic team fly?

Al Fursan, the UAE Air Force display team, flies seven Chinese-built Hongdu L-15 jet trainers, one for each emirate. It switched from the Italian MB-339 at the Dubai Airshow in November 2025, its first aircraft change since 2010.