United Arab Emirates Air Force in terms of capabilities, quality and quantity of aircraft. Training and instruction was provided by the Pakistan Air Force. Neighbour Emirate of Dubai maintained its own air component, the Dubai Defence Force Air Wing, until 1999, when the two were effectively merged to become what is now the United Arab Emirates Air Force. Although the integration of the two independent forces has been complete, a small degree of autonomy exists at the operational command level, with the Western Air Command being headquartered in Abu Dhabi and the Central Air Command in Dubai. Since the 1980s, a combination of regional instability
Emirate of Abu Dhabi Emirate of Abu Dhabi The Emirate of Abu Dhabi (, , or ; , ), is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the largest emirate by area (), accounting for approximately 87 percent of the total land area of the federation. Abu Dhabi also has the largest population of the seven emirates. In June 2011, it was estimated to be 2,120,700 people, of which, 439,100 people (less than 21%) were Emirati citizens, which has risen to 2.3 million in 2012. Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the emirate, after which it is