The base comprises three military camps of the French Army that harbour around 250 personnel. The base operates under
ALINDIEN, the Admiral who heads the French forces in the
Indian Ocean.
Naval base The naval base is located in
Port Zayed, at the end of the commerce harbour. It comprises a 300-metre long dock with a 200-metre wide area, and can host ships up to 10 metres of draught. This allows docking of all French Navy ships, save for the
French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. The base faces the
Straits of Hormuz, a position of vital economic importance. Approximately 40% of the world's oil passes through the Hormuz Strait. The naval component of the base will have 72 staff members. It will accommodate boat stops in the region and will serve as "the preferred support ships of the Navy in the region".
Air base conducts an aerial refuel with a French Rafale over southwest Asia. The air component is named "
Air base 104 Al Dhafra". Since 1 October 2008, three fighters have been based there. The base parcel granted to the French Air Force can harbour up to six aircraft. The land base has 3 Mirage 2000-5 jet fighters currently on station in addition to 57 members of the military on staff.
Land base A training camp was opened for the French Army, 50 km from
Abu Dhabi. It is equipped to train soldiers for urban and desert operations. The land portion of the base holds 93 soldiers within. The soldiers tasked with maintaining the land portion of the base "will have the task to ensure the missions of education and training for fighting in urban areas and in the desert". In 2011, the
13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion moved from
Djibouti to the base and was in turn replaced there by the 5th Cuirassier Regiment in 2016. == See also ==