Dubai, UAE — UAE defense conglomerate EDGE Group has inked deals worth at least $1.8 billion during the Dubai Airshow, with the Emirati military as a key customer, media reports said.
A $1.1 billion deal with UAE Ministry of Defense for aircraft munitions was the biggest of the deals. This involves EDGE subsidiary Lahab Defence Systems producing and delivering the Mk. 81, Mk. 82, Mk. 83 and Mk. 84 air-to-ground munitions, Breaking Defense reported.
The MoD also contracted for some $132.6 million in EDGE subsidiary Adasi’s RASH 2M and 2H “modular glider” systems designed to convert “dumb” munitions into precision-guided ones, the report said.
The EDGE Group is only four years old, but now consists of more than 25 subsidiaries, along with interests in foreign firms as far away as Estonia and Brazil.
Theodore Karasik, a senior advisor at the Gulf State Analytics think tank, told Breaking Defense that EDGE’s deals this year signal a new chapter for the firm and its platforms.
“The key here will be about actual production, training and deployment. EDGE in Brazil is of key interest because it serves as a model for other EDGE relationships with other countries,” he told Breaking Defense.