Old photos of Sheiks aboard Mirages and F-16s adorn the marble corridors of the Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel, home of the Gulf C4ISR conference. At the military headquarters in central Abu Dhabi, a more recent trend is taking shape. The United Arab Emirates is attempting to unite its fragmented military networks into one modern, seamless network so that the country's commanders can use their warplanes and troops more quickly and effectively. The military terminology and doctrine behind this effort would be familiar to NATO, UK and US military intelligence experts, some of whom have briefed the UAE. The Commander of the UAE Joint Forces operates a 24/7 Joint Operations Centre, where personnel from all elements of the UAE Armed Forces monitor defense readings from aircraft, ships and radar. However, the system is not as powerful as the UAE wants it to be. The country's military network, which it calls Al Sheryan, has "limited" capabilities, according to retired UAE Air Force General Khalid Abdullah Al Bu-Ainnain, who addressed the topic in a presentation and published paper at the conference, “A Vision for Transforming the UAE Armed Forces into Network-Centric Operations.” Al Bu-Ainnain is the country's strongest advocate for the creation of an American-style "National Global Information Grid" incorporating Al Sheryan and wireless satellite communications. His views carry weight in the UAE due to his experience in the military and his current role as president of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA), a think tank with offices in the UAE United States and Lebanon. “To obtain more accurate and timely ISR information, the process of planning, commissioning and execution of the UAE Armed Forces must also be improved,” he wrote......middle of paper..... . adversaries "are still planning and organizing an attack. It does not outline what kind of preemptive actions the UAE might take. Although UAE officials have not discussed it publicly, several participants said the missile and nuclear work of the Iran is a major driver behind the UAE's efforts to improve its air defenses and command and control systems. Almost as if on cue, shortly before the conference, the United States announced the measures that would be taken with allies in the Gulf region, including the United Arab Emirates, to strengthen anti-missile defenses to counter Iran. Speaking at Georgetown University and then at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, Army General David Petraeus. of Central Command said that US Patriot missile batteries were installed in four countries in the region and that Aegis anti-missile ships would patrol the Persian Gulf “at all times now.”