Texas Hosts UAE Delegation for Cyber Defense Talks
The four-day senior leader engagement included briefings at Camp Mabry and visits to Texas Cyber Command in San Antonio.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Cybersecurity
Texas Cyber Command and the Texas Military Department hosted a United Arab Emirates defense attaché delegation on Oct. 21 for a four-day senior leader engagement. Cybersecurity is one of the focus areas of the Texas National Guard and UAE partnership under the State Partnership Program.
Why it matters
The Texas National Guard and the United Arab Emirates became State Partnership Program partners in May 2025, and the visit builds on that relationship. The exchange highlights how state-level cyber defense capabilities are being shared with international partners.
Texas Cyber Command operates a 24/7 security operations center and an incident response unit that prevent and respond to cyberattacks on state government entities and critical infrastructure. Texas National Guard cyber professionals support the agency through Operation Fury Shield, though the stub does not provide technical performance metrics for these capabilities.
The players
Texas Cyber Command
Texas Cyber Command is the state agency responsible for preventing and responding to cyberattacks targeting Texas government entities and critical infrastructure.
Texas Military Department
The Texas Military Department oversees the Texas National Guard and coordinates state military operations, including its border and cyber missions.
The details
The delegation received a briefing at Camp Mabry in Austin on Texas Military Department capabilities and border operations, then visited the 149th Fighter Wing and Texas Cyber Command in San Antonio. Service members in the Defensive Cyber Operations Element work alongside command personnel to defend state networks and track threats.
Timeline
May 2025: Texas National Guard and the UAE became State Partnership Program partners.
Aug. 2019: Texas Guard Soldiers and Airmen helped 23 local governments recover from a coordinated ransomware attack.
Oct. 21: The UAE defense attaché delegation was hosted in Texas.
The Tech Race
The Texas and UAE engagement is an activity under the Department of War National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program, which pairs state Guard units with foreign partner nations. The cybersecurity focus extends that program into the defense of digital infrastructure rather than only conventional military cooperation.
For Texas residents, the engagement reflects how state cyber agencies work to protect government systems and critical infrastructure from attacks. The stub does not describe any changes to services, fees, or access that residents would experience directly.
The takeaway
State cyber defense now draws on partnerships with national guard units and foreign defense partners, not only on in-state agencies. Readers following state cybersecurity can track how these programs develop in later reporting.
Further reading
Explore more on Cybersecurity to see how state agencies and national partners defend networks.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Army.
