It's complicated…

The seven emirates that together form the federation that is the UAE are independent constitutional monarchies.

Their rulers (or emirs) retain absolute power within the individual emirates but choose one of their members to be the president of the federation.

Thus Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Emir of Abu Dhabi, serves as president and head of state, while Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, serves as prime minister and deputy president, and acts as the head of government.

Each emirate retains autonomy within its own territory but a percentage of its revenue is allocated to the UAE’s central budget. The UAE pursues common policies in the areas of foreign affairs, security and defence, nationality and immigration issues, education, public health, currency, postal and telecommunications services, labour relations and banking, as well as air traffic control and the licensing of aircraft.

There is a national judiciary, including a Federal Supreme Court, but Dubai and Ras al-Khaimah do not belong to this. All other responsibilities are reserved to the individual emirates.

As a result, the UAE has unified, common armed forces. The UAE Air Force and Air Defence (UAE AF&AD) is thus headquartered at Bateen AFB, in Abu Dhabi, and this HQ administers a Western Air Command (controlling bases at Al Safran, Al Bateen, Al Dhafra and Al Ain), and an Eastern Air Command in Dubai, with the air base of Minhad. There are no UAE AF&AD airfields or major facilities in any of the northern emirates.

Six of the seven emirates do have Government flight services for VIP transport duties, the exception being Ajman, the smallest of the emirates, which lacks an airport, as does Umm Al Quwain.

Three of the emirates (Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain) use aircraft on loan from Fujairah Aviation and/or from Dubai’s Air Wing/Royal Flight. There are also four police aviation elements, in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah.

Between them, the seven emirates operate six Government flight services. The largest of these are Abu Dhabi’s Amiri Flight, the Private Flight Directorate, which operates from Bateen Airport, and the Dubai Air Wing flying from Dubai International Airport.

The Private Flight Directorate operates examples of the Boeing 737-8EX, the 747-4F6, the 747-48E, the 777-2AN(ER) and the 777-35R(ER), as well as the BAe 146-RJ70 and RJ100.           

The Dubai Air Wing air element is bigger, and includes two BAe 146-RJ85s, an A320-232X, a Boeing 737-7E0 (BBJ), a Boeing 737-8EC, a Boeing 737-8AJ and a 737-8E0 (all BBJ2s). There are also a Boeing 747-422 and a -433, as well as a dedicated Boeing 747-412F freighter.

The flight also has AW139 helicopters, a Beech 1900D, a Gulfstream G-IV and a Lockheed L-100-30 Hercules. Some of these are used by Sharjah, Ras al-Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm al Quwain.

The ruler of Sharjah Air Wing replaced its Boeing 737-2W8 with an Airbus A319-133X ACJ, which briefly operated as part of the Dubai Air Wing, while the ruler of Fujairah Air Element uses an A320-232, which does form part of the Dubai Air Wing, and borrows aircraft from Fujairah Aviation.

The ruler Of Ras-Al-Khaimah Air Element uses loan aircraft from the Dubai Air Wing and Fujairah Aviation, as does the Umm Al Quwain Royal Flight Air Element.

Fujairah Aviation operates examples of the Learjet 60, and of the Dassault Falcon 7X, the Falcon 900DX, and the Falcon 2000.

UAE police air units are tasked with HEMS and SAR duties, though their helicopters are also used for VIP, VVIP and transport missions, and most of the helicopters in use are also equipped with FLIR turrets and rescue winches.

The various police forces see their role as being wider than merely providing security and law enforcement, and all use their air units to operate proactively with other agencies to try to achieve a safer society, operating cooperatively and collaboratively with the Air Force and the armed forces, and with the health services.

As with other Government activities in the UAE, Abu Dhabi and Dubai lead in the field of police aviation.

The Abu Dhabi Police Air Wing operates eight AgustaWestland AW139s, five Agusta-Bell AB412EPs and a pair of MBB BK117s. These operate from three bases, at Al Bateen, Al Ain and Liwa, with Abu Dhabi Aviation providing maintenance and support to the fleet at Al Bateen.

The Dubai Police Air Element operates the Agusta-Bell AB412EP and AB412HP, the AgustaWestland A109K2 and the Bell 206B, all based at Dubai International Airport. The Dubai Interior Ministry Department of Civil Defence also operates helicopters, having taken delivery of a number of ex-military Bell UH-1s for aerial fire-fighting. These are painted bright yellow and are equipped with water cannon.

Sharjah Police has an air unit equipped with Agusta-Bell AB212s and AB412EPs, as well as US-built Bell 412EPs, Bell 206B-3s and MBB BK117B-1s. This operates from Sharjah airport.

Unlike the other police air units, Ras al-Khaimah is equipped with PZL Mil Mi-2s and Mil Mi-8MTV-1s, operating from the Ras al-Khaimah police station.

Further expansion of the ‘parapublic’ aviation sector seems likely within the UAE generally, and especially within the ‘Northern emirates’.

There is a perceived need for more dedicated aerial fire-fighting helicopters and for helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) and air ambulance aircraft, while some believe that the piecemeal search and rescue service (now largely provided by the various police air elements) should be rationalised and properly structured. This would leave the police helicopters dedicated to law enforcement, internal security and traffic operations.

But to facilitate these developments, their needs to be further easing of airspace restrictions, and greater investment in infrastructure, especially including airfields and heliports. There also needs to be greater communication and coordination between Government departments and agencies.

When Falcon Aviation Services (FAS) took over responsibilities for maritime search and rescue (SAR) from the UAE Air Force, the company was able to achieve a 98.6% availability rate against the 90% mandated in the contract, and was able to ensure that three out of four aircraft were continually available (from a fleet of two Bell 412EPs and two AW139s). But it found that inter-agency communication and launch authority was often confused, and that one organisation would frequently countermand orders from other agencies to launch an aircraft. These early difficulties have been solved in the SAR field, but any expansion of HEMS would probably run into similar problems, as well as some new challenges.

One such challenge could be coordinating the efforts of existing aero-medical service providers who include the UAE Air Force, three police air wings (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah), as well as Abu Dhabi Aviation, Royal Jet and Falcon Aviation Services).

Another problem could be meeting short-reaction, round-the-clock standby and readiness times of 15 minutes during the day and 30 minutes at night.

Plans for a major expansion of HEMS operations could be further complicated by an international shortage of qualified flight paramedics, and the difficulties inherent in building a system that will keep them current in their medical training.

Many believe that the introduction of medical insurance into the UAE will further complicate matters, especially in trying to achieve standardisation in policy and procedures.