Allow jQuery UI Tabs that act as regular links.

external-tabs.html

<ul class="ui-tabs">
  <li>
    <a href="#tab-1">My Tab 1</a>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a href="#tab-2">My Tab 2</a>
  </li>
  <li>
    <a data-external="http://www.example.com">My External Tab</a>
  </li>
</ul>

setup.js

(function ($) {

$('.ui-tabs').tabs();
$('.ui-tabs a[data-external!=""]:[data-external]').on('click', function (e) {
  e.preventDefault();
  e.stopPropagation();
  window.open($(this).data('external'), $(this).attr('target') || '_self');
});

}(jQuery));