UAE defence firm EDGE says war lifted arms demand

Abu Dhabi-owned defence group EDGE says the Middle East war has increased demand for its weapons as it pushes into European markets.

EDGE executives told AFP that nearly 3,000 missiles and drones targeted the UAE during six months of US-Iran conflict, damaging the country’s safe-haven image but increasing interest in products tested during the fighting.

“Before the war, we only had a handful of products that we could say were battle proven. After the war, we can say a lot of products are now battle proven,” Khaled Al Zaabi, a senior EDGE executive, said at the group’s Abu Dhabi headquarters.

Zaabi said demand had risen by “magnitudes”, but did not give specific figures.

Founded in 2019 by combining UAE defence companies, EDGE employs 19,000 people and makes drones, missiles, armoured vehicles, AI-powered technology and naval vessels. Last year, exports accounted for 70 percent of its $5 billion in sales.

The group is also developing air defence systems, including SkyKnight, a short-range system scheduled for release in 2028. Saeed Al Shamsi, chief executive of EDGE company Halcon, said the company was focused on systems to counter large drone attacks.

The UAE remains reliant on advanced US air defences including Patriot and THAAD systems. Since the war began, the UAE has spent more than $8 billion on US weapons.

In May, EDGE chairman and presidential adviser Faisal Al Bannai said 85 percent of drone interceptions were made using locally produced jammers. Albert Vidal, a research associate at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the figure was difficult to verify independently.

EDGE is also expanding manufacturing. Michael Deshaies, chief executive of EDGE company EPI, said the group hoped to become “one of the largest” makers of micro-jet engines and was building a 5,600-square-metre site to produce them for autonomous vehicles.

EDGE has expanded through acquisitions, majority stakes and joint ventures. After investments including half a billion dollars in Brazil, it set up its Europe headquarters in Paris in June. In France, it plans to open an engine production company and a drone factory.

Vidal said EDGE planned to produce in Europe and sell its products as locally made while using the networks of companies it had acquired. He said European military spending had been rising for more than a decade and that EDGE would struggle to become a top 10 global defence company without selling to Western or NATO countries.

The group has faced controversy. Amnesty International said EDGE armoured vehicles fitted with French weapons had been used by Sudan’s paramilitaries. EDGE denied selling weapons used in Sudan, and the UAE denies reports, including by UN experts, that it backs the paramilitaries.