UAE Military Museum

The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces were formed shortly after the creation of the UAE in 1971. Today the Forces operate integrated land, air and sea forces that protect the nation at home and fulfill peacekeeping, humanitarian and combat missions abroad. The Armed Forces takes its heritage very seriously and over the past several years has assembled an impressive collection of military hardware, uniforms, equipment, documents, photos and other items used by the Forces since their inception. The collection also includes some traditional Bedouin weaponry and equipment used by some of the Armed Forces’ predecessors such as the Trucial Oman Scouts. In fact Armed Forces personnel have been working toward the development of a new Military Museum for some years and have already assigned a significant number of staff to the effort.

In 2007 the Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Company, working with the Armed Forces, asked Lord Cultural Resources to develop a new Master Plan for the Military Museum in association with personnel from both organizations. After touring some of the world’s best military museums with TDIC staff, we analyzed the excellent Armed Forces collection, toured potential sites, assessed the market and facility needs for the new Museum and held a series of meetings and workshops with stakeholders to discuss various museum planning directions. We developed a concept for the new Museum that takes advantage of the large collection yet responds to the realities of the market and the needs of the Armed Forces and at this time we continue to work with the various stakeholders in finalizing the Master Plan.

Following on the completion of the Master Plan, we were asked to embark on a Content Development process for the new Museum to lay the groundwork for subsequent exhibition design. As part of that process, we developed a detailed storyline and reviewed and selected artifacts, graphics and audio-visual material for the exhibition. This ongoing process will culminate in a comprehensive Content Package for the future use of the chosen exhibition designer.