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UAE-US military AI task force launches after years of joint technology testing
Abu Dhabi-based Task force Talon Synapse follows earlier experiments that put Emirati and American unmanned systems, sensors and AI to work together at sea
- PUBLISHED: Sat 22 Aug 2026, 3:16 PM
The UAE and United States have launched their first bilateral military artificial intelligence task force in Abu Dhabi, but the idea did not begin with Friday's announcement.
Five years earlier, the same US commander now leading Central Command was experimenting with a smaller version of the concept at sea.
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Task Force Talon Synapse brings together around 20 Emirati and American specialists in AI, data and cybersecurity. The UAE Embassy in Washington said on Friday that the task force had launched, after US Central Command announced an agreement to establish it on July 28.
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Its stated focus is on AI applications for intelligence support, protecting critical infrastructure and monitoring the regional security environment.
For Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of Centcom, the new unit follows a longer effort to bring AI, unmanned systems and regional partners into the same operational picture.
In September 2021, while commanding US Naval Forces Central Command and the US Fifth Fleet, Cooper established Task Force 59 in Bahrain. It was the US Navy's first task force designed specifically to rapidly integrate unmanned systems and AI into maritime operations. Its goals included improving maritime awareness and deterrence.
The UAE became part of that experiment in February 2023. During a week-long exercise off the UAE coast, five unmanned surface vessels operated by the UAE Navy and Task Force 59 used cameras and sensors to collect imagery of nearby vessels. The data was transmitted ashore, where AI platforms helped detect, identify and classify what the systems were seeing.
The US Navy described it as its first bilateral unmanned systems and AI integration exercise with the UAE.
“This exercise allowed us to further train our artificial intelligence platforms to sort through new data sets,” Task Force 59 exercise planner Lt Jay Faylo said at the time.
Talon Synapse goes beyond that single maritime exercise. Instead of bringing the two sides together for a specific test, the Abu Dhabi-based unit creates a standing bilateral team focused specifically on military AI.
The institutional groundwork has also widened. In May 2025, the UAE and US signed a letter of intent establishing a Major Defense Partnership covering military cooperation, joint capability development and interoperability. Days later, the US Defense Innovation Unit and Tawazun Council signed a separate memorandum focused on defence technology, including joint capability development and access to laboratories and testing facilities.
Washington then eased export controls on the UAE in July, moving the country into US export-control group A:5 and expanding access for approved entities to certain military, space, dual-use and advanced computing technologies.
Centcom has not publicly detailed the specific AI systems Talon Synapse will develop or deploy.
But its launch takes a relationship that once involved experimenting on unmanned vessels and training software to interpret sensor data into a permanent joint structure, with Emirati and American specialists now expected to work side by side in Abu Dhabi.
Ahmed Waqqas Alawlaqi is the youngest Special Correspondent, reporting from Abu Dhabi on youth, AI and innovation, and human-interest stories. His work brings exclusive perspectives from the Capital, highlighting voices that shape the UAE's future.