Why do experts believe satellite control is becoming so important, and how is the UAE building its own systems?

Many analysts and technology professionals argue that satellites are now essential to everything from aviation, banking, navigation, communications, and disaster management to national security, making sovereign control over space infrastructure a strategic necessity rather than a luxury—while the UAE is increasingly being recognised for investing in independent capabilities through companies like Space42, AI-driven satellite technologies, Earth observation systems, and the region’s first commercial SAR satellite manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi, alongside developing Emirati talent in AI, cybersecurity, and space engineering to reduce reliance on foreign systems and strengthen long-term technological independence.