The Chinese Ministry of Defence stated Monday that China and the UAE will hold joint air force training exercises in western China’s Xinjiang region in August.
The ministry noted in a brief statement that the “Falcon Shield 2023” manoeuvres will be the first cooperative air force training between the two countries. The training aims to improve practical exchanges and collaboration between their military forces, building trust.
The statement did not clarify the UAE unit’s size or length.
The UAE, a longtime US ally, has participated in many military exercises with the US, including the annual Iron Union exercise in May.
The UAE’s military uses American weapons including the THAAD missile defence system and AH-64 Apache combat helicopters.
However, the UAE’s main Chinese armaments are unmanned combat aerial vehicles like Wing Loong 1 and Wing Loong 2, made by the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, which is indirectly owned by the Chinese government.
The UAE bought Chinese Blue Arrow 7 anti-tank missiles for their Wing Loong 2 fleet in 2017.
China sold the UAE five modern L-15 training aircraft at Idex 2023.