EDGE Group (Arabic: مجموعة إيدج) is a United Arab Emirates (UAE) state-owned advanced technology and defence conglomerate comprising 25 companies that provide a diverse portfolio of military and civilian products, services, solutions, and related technologies. EDGE is one of the world’s advanced technology and defence groups.
History
The EDGE Group was established on 5 November 2019 by H.E Faisal Al Bannai, and consists of more than 25 entities from the Emirates Defence Industries Company (EDIC), Emirates Advanced Investments Group (EAIG), Tawazun Holding, and other independent organisations, to address the UAE's antiquated defence industry. The Group employs a multi-cultural workforce of approximately 12,000 employees of over 80 nationalities, working across its five core clusters: Platforms & Systems, Missiles & Weapons, Space & Cyber Technologies, Trading & Mission Support, and Homeland Security.
EDGE was the official Advanced Technology Partner at the Dubai Airshow 2019. The Group's 11 participating entities showcased their wide range of capabilities, which included unmanned aerial vehicles, and long-range munitions including the UAE-made ADASI RW-24. AMMROC also announced its plan to open a maintenance facility at to Al Ain International Airport.
EDGE's entity HALCON signed a US$1 billion contract in November 2019 to deliver its Desert Sting lightweight precision guided missiles to UAE Armed Forces.
Later, GAL, which was part of the Mission Support Cluster within EDGE Group, signed a contract with Kenya’s Ministry of Defence to provide MRO services to the Kenyan Air Force. GAL also signed an AED 3.5 billion support contract with the UAE’s Joint Aviation Command.
EDGE joined Tawdheef, the UAE’s leading event for Emiratisation, and the second edition of the biennial Mohamed bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge 2020 (MBZIRC 2020), as the official Advanced Technology Partner in January 2020.
EDGE’s ADASI also launched its made-in-the-UAE VTOL drone at the UMEX exhibition in February 2020.
In December 2020, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported that EDGE had ranked 22nd in the world's largest arms companies list. According to Pieter Wezeman, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Programme: "EDGE is a good illustration of how the combination of high national demand for military products and services with a desire to become less dependent on foreign suppliers is driving the growth of arms companies in the Middle East." The sales of arms and military services by the largest 25 companies totalled US$361 billion in 2019, with EDGE accounting for 1.3 percent of this total. According to DefenseNews.com’s 2021 July report, EDGE Group is the 24th largest defence contractor in the world.
On 31, 2022, Mansour AlMulla was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EDGE Group, while H.E Faisal Al Bannai assumed the role of Chairman of the Board.
In the same year, DIGITAL14, a developer of multi-sector innovative and ultra-secure communication solutions, merged into the EDGE and was rebranded as KATIM.
In early 2023, EDGE disclosed that orders for its products and solutions had exceeded US$5 billion for 2022, a third of which was made up of international exports—a 500% year-on-year increase. The group’s expanding global footprint now covers over 30 countries across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The company acquired a majority shareholding in Estonian robotic developer Milrem Robotics on 15 February 2023. Milrem, Europe’s leading developer of robotics and autonomous systems, has been developing unmanned vehicles for both military and civilian use, since 2013.
At the IDEX defence exhibition held in Abu Dhabi in February 2023, EDGE announced over AED18.6 billion worth of contracts, AED4 billion of which was in exports, including a landmark EUR1 billion export deal with the Angolan Navy to build a fleet of best-in-class 71 metre corvette vessels. The group also launched 14 new products including 11 autonomous solutions. Contracts with the UAE Armed Forces at IDEX 2023 totalling AED9 billion were announced for EDGE’s THUNDER and DESERT STING 25 Precision-Guided Munitions; SHADOW 25 and SHADOW 50; and HUNTER Loitering Munitions; and a contract valued at AED4 billion to provide tactical communications and data-link solutions.
In March 2023, EDGE acquired UAE based Trust International Group, further fortifying its technology and defence portfolio.