The end of this month marks the 25th anniversary of the ceasefire that ended the first Gulf War.
By February 28, 1991, an international coalition of armed forces had defeated Saddam Hussein and liberated Kuwait.
The scale and scope of the multinational operation was unprecedented in modern military history, involving combat forces from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Britain, France, Egypt and nine other nations, with non-combat forces from 18 others.
Among those on the battlefield were the armed forces of the UAE – reported by the US state department as the first Arabian Gulf state to propose military action when Iraq first threatened Kuwait in the summer of 1990.
This photograph shows a review of the UAE troops who took part in what was known as Operation Desert Storm, by Sheikh Zayed, the late President of the UAE.
It was reported that six members of the armed forces lost their lives in the conflict for the liberation of Kuwait.
As well as this image, the specially-converted camouflaged vehicle with a platform for Sheikh Zayed, survives as a record of that time.
It now forms part of the permanent collection at the Sheikh Zayed Centre in Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi.
* James Langton
