The UAE Air Force consists of about 5,000 personnel. It operates C.212 Aviocar 100s and CN.235Ms. (The air force has recently ordered CN.295 Persuaders, a stretched and upgraded version of the CN.235.) The UAE Air Force operates a variety of helicopters, including the AH-64 Apache, SA-342 Gazelle, and the AS-565 Panther.

The current fighter fleet consists of Mirage 2000s and Hawks (61/61 and 102 versions). The UAE Air Force recently purchased thirty Mirage 2000-9s and is upgrading its current Mirage 2000 fleet to the -9 configuration. The UAE Air Force chose the F-16 Block 60 in March 2000 as its newest advanced fighter.