Zayed 3 exercise
From 15 August 2021, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt started a 10-day joint air and naval exercise. The air exercise was held at Abu Dhabi/Al Dhafra air base (UAE), home of two Mirage 2000 squadrons and three F-16E/F Fighting Falcon squadrons.
This exercise is part of a scheduled military plan between the UAE armed forces and their counterparts and the aim of this year's exercise is to achieve the maximum possible benefits for all elements participating in the planning and implementation of air operations in addition to measuring the readiness of the forces to carry out joint operations on various objectives to support security and stability efforts and face challenges in the region.
During the last phase of the exercise, the Al Quwwat Al Jawwiya Il Misriya (EGAF, Egypt Air Force) and the United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAEAF) executed joint training sorties to enhance their ability, manage joint air warfare, and exchange expertise among the aircrews of both sides.
The previous two exercises, Zayed 1 and Zayed 2 were held in 2014 respectively 2017.
Participating units flying from Abu Dhabi/Al Dhafra air base were:
Only very few aircraft were identified. The UAE Ministry of Defence (MoD) released a nice video. If you have more information please let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Photo by UAE Ministry of Defence