The next attack will not wait for the UAE to be ready

Halima Younis – Exclusive to Dubai Diplomacy

The ongoing Iranian missile and drone attacks on the UAE, which have persisted for over a month, are a wake-up call that cannot be ignored.

For a country known globally for its luxury resorts and peaceful cosmopolitan lifestyle, the repeated sight of residents and tourists scrambling for cover is deeply alarming.

It exposes one clear gap: the UAE is still not adequately prepared to protect its civilian population during sustained aerial attacks.

This article is not about politics. It is about one simple question, what must the UAE build now, so that its people are truly safe if this ever happens again?

People Were Hiding in Parking Garages. That Is Not Good Enough

When the attack happened, thousands of people rushed to the underground parking garages beneath their buildings and hotels. But parking garages are not shelters. They have no beds, no food, no clean water, no medical supplies, and no communication. For a country that welcomes tens of millions of tourists every year and prides itself on the highest standards of comfort and safety, this is simply not acceptable.

When the attack happened, thousands of people rushed to the underground parking garages beneath their buildings and hotels. But parking garages are not shelters. They have no beds, no food, no clean water, no medical supplies, and no communication.

Some hotels showed admirable initiative by bringing mattresses and food down to the people sheltering in their garages, but this was a limited and improvised response that cannot be relied upon in a more severe or prolonged attack.

For a country that welcomes tens of millions of tourists every year and prides itself on the highest standards of comfort and safety, this is simply not acceptable.

Build a National Network of Civilian Bunkers

The UAE must build a comprehensive network of civilian bunkers across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and every major city. These should be modern, clean, and properly equipped spaces where people can stay comfortably for an extended period.

Every shelter must contain beds, emergency food and water for at least 72 hours, reliable internet and communication, clean air filtration, and backup power.

Medical preparedness must be a core part of every bunker. Each shelter should be stocked with bandages, antiseptics, pain relievers, oxygen supply, defibrillators, and medications for common conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and allergic reactions, with at least one trained first aid responder present at all times.

Every hotel, residential tower, shopping mall, school, and hospital should have direct access to a purpose-built shelter. Switzerland has enough civilian shelter space to protect its entire population. The UAE has far greater financial capacity and construction capability. There is no reason it cannot do the same.

Underground Water Reserves Are a Matter of Survival

The UAE has no natural water. Every drop consumed is generated through seawater desalination factories. If those factories are hit and destroyed, the country runs out of water within days, there is no greater catastrophe imaginable for a civilian population in a desert environment.

The UAE currently maintains some emergency water tanks, but surface tanks are easy targets for missiles and drones and can be destroyed in a single strike.

The UAE must urgently build a network of large underground water storage tanks, buried deep enough to survive attacks and distributed across multiple locations so no single strike can eliminate the entire supply. In a desert country with no natural water sources, protecting water must be treated as a national security priority of the highest order.

Defense Yes, Military Power No

The UAE is a global tourism and business destination. Transforming it into an offensive military power would damage its image and economy. Its path is purely defensive.

This means investing in advanced missile defense systems and layered air defense across all cities. But the most urgent priority today is anti-drone technology.

Ukraine has developed battle-tested anti-drone systems proven in real combat against mass drone swarms, precisely what the UAE recently faced. The UAE has already begun deals with Ukraine in this area, and this must be expanded immediately.

The British DragonFire laser system is equally important. Its key advantage is cost, intercepting hundreds of cheap drones with expensive missiles is unsustainable. A laser system eliminates that problem entirely. The UAE should pursue this technology as a matter of urgency.

The Time to Act Is Now

The UAE has always built boldly and thought ahead. It built the tallest building on earth, created islands in the sea, and launched a space program. That same ambition must now be directed toward the most fundamental responsibility any government carries, the safety of its people.

Build the bunkers. Build the underground water reserves. Upgrade the defenses. Bring in the experts. Make the UAE not only the most spectacular destination on earth, but the safest one as well.

Halima Younis, political analyst.

All views expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of DubaiDiplomacy or its editors.

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