While Saudi Arabia and Iran are scrambling for leadership in the Middle East, the UAE has continued to increase its military power.
Between 2010 and 2014, the UAE was the second largest arms importer of US arms globally, the third largest buyer from France and the biggest customer of Italian arms.
Earlier this year, Lockheed Martin received a $174-million contract to produce tactical long-range surface-to-surface missiles, or ATACMS.
Despite the fact that the United States would certainly intervene to help out the UAE in case of a military invasion, Sheikh Mohamed has always been preoccupied with his country's security.
Sheikh Mohamed is an experienced soldier himself. His plan is to essentially have a military force that can hold any foreign aggressor long enough until the United States intervenes to help, Bloomberg reported, adding that the man is also very knowledgeable about military equipment.
"The UAE couldn't afford to just sit there and pretend to be Switzerland and have the whole region burn down," said Mishaal Al Gergawi, Director of the Delma Institute Research Center, as cited by Bloomberg.
Currently, the UAE's military is involved in Yemen, where it's fighting against rebel forces, and in Syria, where its Air Force bombs ISIL targets.
