Emirates urges creation of drone protection system
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has urged Western and Arab countries to create an element of protection against the threat of drones. The UAE made the call during the inaugural UMEX 2022 conference on unmanned aerial vehicles.
The UAE called on the militaries of allied countries to develop a "shield" to protect against the "risk of drones".
The UMEX 2022 event was the starting point for representatives of the armed forces of different Arab and Western countries, including the United States, France and the United Kingdom, to discuss military defence systems and ways to avoid the threat of drones.
UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence Omar Sultan al-Olama referred to the great importance of being able to protect the nation from certain military technologies. "Today, more than ever, we understand the importance of protecting our nation. Making sure that these technologies are tools that we can use, but that they cannot be used against us," Al-Olama was quoted as saying by Asharq media.
Omar Sultan al-Olama referred in particular to drones as "much cheaper and more accessible systems than ever before", which allows them to fall into the hands of less desirable people such as "terrorist groups". The Emirati minister of state said that in the face of this challenge, we must unite and work together to "ensure that we can build a shield to protect against the danger of these systems being used".
They are now part of the arsenals of "terrorist groups that use the systems to terrorise civilians or to impact the global system in a negative way", said the UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence.
The UAE suffered a major drone offensive in Abu Dhabi on 17 January that left three dead, carried out by Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen's war against the Saudi-led international alliance, of which the Gulf state is a member, with the aim of undermining the legally established Yemeni government. In the wake of that attack, even the UAE Interior Ministry announced a month-long ban on the use of drones and the practice of any powered flight sports.
Saudi Arabia has also suffered multiple drone attacks led by the Houthi rebels, an armed group that is linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a major representative of the Shiite side of Islam as opposed to the Sunni branch sponsored by the Saudi kingdom.
In December, the Saudi-led coalition said the Houthis had fired more than 850 attack drones and 400 ballistic missiles at the kingdom in the past seven years, killing a total of 59 civilians.
Meanwhile, Emirati Minister of State for Defence Affairs Mohamed bin Ahmed al-Bowardi, speaking at the same conference, called for unity to prevent the use of drones that come to "threaten the security of civilians and destroy economic institutions". He warned that drones "have become the weapon of choice for terrorist groups because of their low production cost, efficiency, effectiveness and ease of access".
Drones are difficult for radar to detect in many cases and require complex work to bring them down without generating casualties in their fall. In response, Major General Sean A. Gainey, director of the US Army's Joint Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office, said that this poses problems and challenges that "our adversaries" do not have, as reported by France 24. Gainey did indicate that Artificial Intelligence is a good tool to counteract the effect of drones.
However, the positive aspect of drones was also acknowledged. "Unmanned systems and drones have become the title of a truly unprecedented technological revolution, and a reflection of the success of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and artificial intelligence technology," said Al-Bowardi, who indicated that they serve to enhance defensive capabilities and boost the nation's economic growth, as reported by the official Emirati news agency WAM.
The UMEX 2022 conference was organised by the Abu Dhabi Nationa Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) together with the Ministry of Defence with the participation of more than 2,000 experts and specialists on the subject in person and online, and began under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. This conference serves as a prelude to the subsequent full-scale UMEX and SimTEX trade fairs, scheduled for 21-23 February.
