In a major development that shows how friendships between countries can change history, Israel has secretly sent its most advanced weapon systems, including a high-tech laser machine, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The reason behind this surprising move was to protect the Gulf nation from a massive shower of missiles and drones fired by Iran during the recent conflict.

This is one of the biggest defence partnerships ever seen between Israel and an Arab country. Just a few years ago, such cooperation was unthinkable for anyone. Israel and the UAE did not even have official diplomatic relations until the year 2020, when the Abraham Accords were signed under former US President Donald Trump's leadership and guidance.

For those who do not know, the Abraham Accords are peace agreements signed in 2020. Through these deals, Israel normalised relations with Arab nations like the UAE and Bahrain. The United States played the role of peacemaker here. The agreements opened doors for trade, travel, technology sharing, and most importantly, military cooperation. As one regional official said, this clearly shows "the benefit of being Israel's friend" today.

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According to two reliable sources, Israel quickly transported a small but powerful surveillance device called Spectro to the UAE. This lightweight system can detect incoming drones, especially the dangerous Shahed drones used by Iran, from a distance of up to 20 kilometres. Imagine being able to spot a small flying threat from very far away — that is the kind of huge advantage Spectro provides to its users.

Along with this, Israel also delivered a version of its famous Iron Beam laser defence system. This laser is straight out of a science fiction movie. It works by firing a powerful beam of light that burns short-range rockets and drones in mid-air before they can cause any damage. Israel had first used Iron Beam earlier this year to fight against Hezbollah attacks coming from Lebanon. Until now, nobody knew that Iron Beam and Spectro had been deployed in the UAE for protection.

These two systems were added to the already-deployed Iron Dome air defence system, which is Israel's most well-known shield against rockets. Several dozen Israeli soldiers were also sent to operate the equipment. According to people in the know, "the number of troops on the ground is quite large." Axios news website was the first to report on the Iron Dome being sent to the UAE for defence.

When journalists from the Financial Times asked the makers of these weapons — Elbit Systems (which builds Spectro) and Rafael Advanced Defence Systems (which builds Iron Beam) — both companies refused to comment. The Israeli Ministry of Defence also stayed silent, and the UAE did not reply to any questions at all.

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But the help did not end with just weapons. Israel also shared real-time intelligence with the UAE. This means Israeli spies and satellites kept watching Iran constantly and immediately informed the UAE whenever short-range missile launches were detected in western Iran aimed at the Gulf nation.

The scale of Iran's attack was truly shocking. Iran fired over 500 ballistic missiles and around 2,000 drones at the UAE. To put this in simple terms, that is like a non-stop hailstorm of explosives raining down on cities, ports, and oil fields. However, thanks to multiple air defence systems — many of them Israeli-made — most of the attacks were successfully stopped.

The situation moved so fast that Israel did something extraordinary. It took weapons that were still in the testing stage or not fully connected to its own radar networks, and immediately handed them over to the Emiratis. As one source said, this showed "very deep and close access" and a high level of trust and openness. This kind of military sharing is rare even between long-time trusted allies.

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The war began after a joint US-Israel attack on Iran in February. Iran's counterattack made the UAE one of the main targets, partly because Abu Dhabi had strongly supported the Abraham Accords. The Gulf nation was punished by Iran simply for choosing the path of peace with Israel.

Before this war, Israel had already sold defence systems like Barak and Spyder missiles to the UAE. But this conflict became the first major real-world test of their growing friendship, and Israel passed the test by giving its newest weapons without hesitation.

While criticising Arab and Muslim countries for their weak response to Iran's aggression, the UAE has made one thing very clear — it plans to strengthen ties with both the United States and Israel further. Old enemies are becoming new friends, and shared threats are creating powerful shared shields above.

(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)