Middle East

 Middle East / West Asia 

UAE

18 May 2026

The Chronology on X: "India-UAE Defense Deal 1. Joint Manufacturing (Make in India + UAE)- India & UAE will together build drones, missiles, ships & ammunition. UAE brings money, India brings manpower & factories. So it's not just India selling, it's both building together. 2. Arms Export Market - https://t.co/frR1WjORgR" / X  India's indigenous weapons (like Tejas jets, BrahMos missiles, Akash air defence) can now be sold to UAE. India's growing defence exports under the "Make in India" initiative get a major boost through this partnership. Simply put India earns dollars by selling weapons, like USA does.

3. Maritime Security- The partnership covers maritime security, cyber defence, secure communications and information exchange. UAE sits right at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the route through which India's oil tankers travel daily. If that route is threatened (like now, with the Iran war), UAE helps protect Indian ships. 4. Joint Military Training & Exercises- Indian and UAE soldiers will train together. Think of it like building muscle memory between two armies so they can act together in a crisis. 5. Cyber Defence- Both countries will share intelligence on cyber threats. This covers cybersecurity, intelligence-sharing and counter-terrorism cooperation. Simply if a hacker attacks India's power grid or banks, UAE shares what it knows. 6. AI & Supercomputing for Defence- A term sheet was signed for setting up a supercomputing cluster to strengthen India's AI and high-performance computing capabilities which directly feeds into defence simulations and strategic planning. 9:21PM 17 May 2026