Flight International - 04

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UAE grows technological Edge
State-owned defence house uses biennial IDEX show to
highlight its expanded equipment portfolio and advance
collaboration discussions with international partners
Edge
Murdo Morrison Abu Dhabi
To say that Edge Group bestrode
its home show IDEX
would be an understatement.
The United Arab Emirates’
(UAE) state-owned defence
house announced a slew of contracts
with its domestic customer,
including for precision-guided and
loitering munitions. It also revealed
it is discussing potential collaborations
with, among others, BAE
S ystems, L3Harris and Raytheon.
Its football pitch-sized stand
at the biennial Abu Dhabi exhibition
– held from 20-24 February
– featured an array of products,
including more than a dozen
autonomous airborne platforms.
These included first appearances
for the Jeniah unmanned combat
air vehicle design and Air Truck,
a 500kg (1,100lb)-payload rotorcraft
designed to supply frontline
troops or carry out medical
evacuation duties.
Chief executive Mansour Almulla
says the business’s scaled-up
presence at the event was all about
reinforcing its credentials as an
innovative, entrepreneurial developer
of proprietary technology
in disciplines such as weaponry,
110
Approximate number of products in
group’s portfolio, including Air Truck
unmanned cargo rotorcraft
autonomous systems and electronic
warfare. The company is also
keen to investigate business partnerships
with counterparts large
and small from around the world.
Edge was set up just before
November 2019’s Dubai air show to
bring the nation’s defence industrial
assets under one roof. With its
deep pockets and pressing security
imperatives, the UAE had been a
big buyer of foreign military equipment
for decades. Edge was Abu
Dhabi’s bid to become a heavyweight
on the supply side too – not
just for domestic needs but also in
the export market.
Almulla believes that in its fourth
year of existence Edge is already
making strides towards that goal.
“We have come a long way,” he
tells FlightGlobal, pointing to
the fact that from having fewer
than 20 products in its portfolio
Halcon unit announced a one billion
dirham contract for Al Tariq missiles
when the business was set up,
it now has around 110. Of these
new capabilities, around 50 are
market-ready and another 40 in
advanced development.
The UAE still accounts for
the bulk of its orders – deals
announced at the show for its
Halcon unit included a one billion
dirham ($270 million) contract for
Al Tariq long-range missiles, and
another listed at 4.7 billion dirham
for Desert Sting 25 lightweight
air-to-surface precision-guided
munitions. Halcon will also
supply additional Hunter loitering
munitions to the UAE armed forces,
and sister unit ADASI its Shadow
25 and 50 weapons.
However, the export market is
a priority, and Almulla believes
shows such as IDEX are a shop
window to the world for the young
consolidated business. Overseas
sales grew from one billion dirham
in 2021 to five billion dirham last
year, or roughly one-fifth of Edge’s
total order intake. “There will
be dips and spikes in that trend,
but the message is that we are
progressing,” he says.
New products
Among the new products
announced at the show was the
Skyshield counter-unmanned
air vehicle system, designed to
provide protection to critical infrastructure.
Developed by Edge’s
electronic warfare arm Sign4l,
it comprises sensors, 3D radars,
electro- optical cameras and direction
finders, integrated into a
command and control system.
Also seeing the light of day
was SkyKnight, which Edge says
is the first UAE designed and
manufactured counter-rocket,
artillery and mortar missile system.
Edge is teaming with Germany’s
Rheinmetall to offer SkyKnight as
the missile system component of its
Oerlikon Skynex air defence system.
As with the Rheinmetall collaboration,
Edge is not doing it all on
its own. This year it bought a $14
Mark Pilling
18 Flight International April 2023