05/06/2026
Senior United Arab Emirates officials in Abu Dhabi have held preliminary talks to create a new defense-focused investment vehicle that would allow the UAE to acquire stakes in defense companies around the world, including UAV manufacturers in Ukraine.
The initial discussions involved UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed Al Nahyan and Mubadala Investment Co. CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Bloomberg reported, citing “sources familiar with the talks.”
UAE plans
“The new investment vehicle will be required to acquire stakes in defense companies around the world to diversify supplies to the UAE. Investments will include well-known firms in Europe and the US, as well as Ukrainian and Turkish drone manufacturers,” the publication quotes its sources.
Discussions on the structure of such an instrument and the strategy of Abu Dhabi’s new initiative are “still at an early stage,” and this ” structure may not ultimately be established,” the publication notes, adding that Mubadala Investment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other representatives of the UAE authorities declined to comment.
Either way, the discussions held focused on preventing the investment vehicle from affecting Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds and existing Emirati defense companies.
What preceded
The UAE has already created similar platforms in the past, the publication notes, citing the aforementioned Mubadala organization as an example, which in 2025 spent $39 billion specifically on defense investments in other countries.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the UAE is currently the main buyer of weapons, accounting for 2.7% of global imports. Thus, the UAE “has an advanced arsenal, including Patriot and THAAD missile systems, F-16 fighters and Black Hawk helicopters”, while the USA, France and South Korea are among the main suppliers of weapons to the country.
Production in Ukraine
Meanwhile, Ukraine is massively expanding its air defenses, including with the help of new interceptor drones. For example, for the Defense Forces alone, eight thousand Octopus drones will be purchased in the near future – these are “Shaheed” interceptors that have already shown effectiveness in combat conditions.
As OBOZ.UA reported, the Ukrainian military is also developing new technological solutions for drone operations in Moscow. Due to the dense air defense in the Russian capital and electronic warfare means, there are certain difficulties in using UAVs, but our military is working to overcome these obstacles, assures Advisor to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov .
Ukraine’s client list keeps on growing.