The Air Truck is one of several new UAE-made drones exhibited for the
first time at this year's IDEX defence technology exhibition which was
held in Abu Dhabi, February 20, 2023
EDGE’s emphasis at IDEX was on unmanned and autonomous systems which
are proving increasingly attractive to buyers who want to limit human
risk and casualties while capitalizing on the battlefield advantages
that unmanned aerial vehicles provide. Those advantages were much in
display in the most recent Azerbaijan – Armenia conflict in 2020 where
Turkish supplied Bayraktar droness decisively turn the tide of battle in Azerbaijan’s favour.
Previously the UAE had supplied drones to the Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar
in his failed attempt in 2019 to seize Tripoli and defenestrate the UN-
recognised Government of National Acccord. In that instance, the drones
were Chinese manufactured Wing Loong UAVs. It hasn’t taken long,
however, for EDGE to move into a lucrative market with their own locally
manufactured UAVs.
At IDEX Mansour Almulla, the
CEO and Managing Director of EDGE Group, wasn’t shy in declaring his
company’s quick successes in expanding its range through “extensive
investment in industry-leading companies, innovation, and rapid product
development,” adding “we are proud to debut a portfolio of ‘Made in the
UAE’ autonomy-enabled solutions that will enable our customers to expand
their reach to new heights and depths across multiple combat
environments.”
The nimbleness with which the UAE has positioned itself in the arms
trade market contrasts with similar efforts by Saudi Arabia to propel
SAMI, an arms company that comes under the Public Investment Fund (PIF)
run by the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. The crown prince had
made clear in his Vision2030 overhaul of the Saudi economy that an
indigenous weapons industry was something he keenly aspired to achieve
in short order. SAMI – Saudi Arabian Military Industries – was launched a
full two years before EDGE in May 2017 with the claimed intention
of contributing 14 billion riyals (US$3.7 billion) to the Saudi economy
by 2030, 6 billion riyals (US$1.6 billion) investment in research and
development and the creation of 40,000 jobs.
Six years on and SAMI has not a great deal to show in its efforts to
reach those ambitious targets. Rather it is the UAE, which increasingly
MbS views as his most significant regional economic rival, that has
stolen a march on Riyadh.
The UAE, according to SIPRI data became the first Middle East arms company to move into the top 25, coming in at 22nd. Meanwhile the Saudis ranked second
in the world in imports of arms between 2018 -2022 with the tiny Gulf
state of Qatar (with an indigenous population of 300,000) at number
three and debt-strapped Egypt at number six.
The Saudis signed a deal
in January with Terra Drone, a Japanese firm that will see the PIF
invest US$14 million in setting up as Saudi subsidiary. Though the
investment may develop into a broader project, for now given just how
big and competitive the drone market is the goal seems a very modest
one. The drones will be used to provide oil and gas inspection services.
As MbS continues to pour hundreds of billions into his numerous
giga-projects, with EDGE the Emiratis are quietly getting on with
securing a not inconsiderable presence in the global arms market.