Dubai: Elite SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams geared up to participate in the second edition of the UAE Swat Challenge 2020 to be hosted by Dubai Police at the Al Ruwayaa Training City from February 9 to 13.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Lt General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, 46 teams from 26 countries will compete in five categories that will test the skills of special armed response units from around the world.
They will stage mock hostage rescues, raids challenges, rescue of injured officers, the tower challenge and overcoming obstacle courses in a bid to be crowned the most competent force.
Details of the challenge were given at a press conference.
Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri, Commander-In-Chief at Dubai Police, said that police forces in the world are keen on such challenges to showcase their efficiency and readiness.
“The competition is an expression of the country’s reputation in organising big events. It is a good chance to exchange expertise from the best squad and tactical teams in the world,” Maj Gen Al Merri said.
“Despite the teams coming from different training schools, they are united in securing societies,” he added.
Colonel Musabah Saeed Al Ghafli, general coordinator of the challenge, said the challenge this year is bigger and mightier than last year.
“We have new teams competing this year from China, Pakistan and Chechnya. More than 500 tickets were sold to the public to attend several challenge categories,” Col Al Ghafli said.
Maj-Gen Al Merri praised the level of readiness achieved by the organising committee during a visit to the challenge site on Thursday and concluded his visit by meeting the panel of judges which includes 34 members from the UAE and the US.
