Armed Forces military show leaves audience wide-eyed
abu dhabi — The Abu Dhabi Corniche witnessed jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring moments as the UAE Armed Forces put up a brilliant show of their power and grit through ‘Union Fortress’ demonstration on Thursday evening.
Khaled Ahmed and friends were at the Corniche from afternoon and said the ‘wait was worth it’.
“My respect for the Armed Forces has grown manyfolds,” he said after the show.
Multiple helicopters with snipers encircled the area as a submarine with Special Forces made its way from the right end. There was more drama as a maritime assault followed causing more excitement among the audience. Most of the action was between the roads — 18th Street and Mubarak bin Mohammed Street — giving the general public a first-of-its-kind taste of military action.
“I haven’t seen or heard anything like this. I was scared at first because I didn’t expect it. It was all smoke at the end,” six-year-old Rachael Mariam said.
The sea warfare was followed by airshow that saw high-altitude, low-opening (HALO) military freefall jump from an aircraft and F16s dramatic flyby. The airborne operations left a coloured trail of Pan Arab colours — red, green, white and black. It was a show of trust and discipline as jets flew by at low-altitudes, crisscrossing each other.
The land, air and sea show of unity and strength was a hallmark of hi-tech technology and worldclass professionalism of the UAE Armed Forces.
Another spectator Patrick David said the display was a ‘lesson’ for the general public on not taking their ‘breathing space lightly’.
“These very soldiers ensure peace and harmony in this country. I salute the leaders of this country. This is a great thought to have such a show and awareness for the general public.”
There was a demo of hostage rescue that gave audience a peek into real-life situation from a soldier’s point of view.
The joint exercise in the evening was an effort from all the branches of the UAE Armed Forces, focusing on the highly-trained rapidresponse force of the Presidential Guard as the ground force, supported by the Joint Aviation Command, Navy, Air Force, Air Defence, Army and Elite UAE Special Forces.
And the moment that stole the show was the one when the fighter jets drew a heart in the air in UAE flag colours, sending out an open message to the world highlighting the true spirit of the peace-loving tolerant nation.