His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, unveiled a new advanced technology conglomerate EDGE for the UAE defence industry. This is to strengthen national security and defence.
The new company will partner with top industry-equipment manufacturers and defence companies to boost innovation to protect against cyber-attacks, drones, the spread of wrong information and other emerging threats to national security in the UAE and across the globe.
EDGE is formed by consolidating more than 25 entities, including subsidiaries from the Emirates Defence Industries Company (EDIC), Emirates Advanced Investments Group (EAIG), Tawazun Holding, and other independent organisations.
“The solution to address hybrid warfare lies at the convergence of innovations from the commercial world and the military industry, Established with a core mandate to disrupt an antiquated military industry generally stifled by red tape, Edge is set to bring products to market faster and at more cost-effective price points” said Faisal Al Bannai, chief executive and managing director of Edge.
EDGE will develop partnerships with world-leading industry OEMs and defence contractors, the SME sector and academia. Boosting the rate of innovation, it will also be attracting high profile industry experts and talent from around the globe, to help on a wide range of modern product development, ranging from ideation to building cross domain capabilities.
“We are invested in managing the uncertainty that technology brings by adapting our focus and capabilities towards a sustainable defence and security industry. EDGE will help us transform our domestic capabilities while growing our engagements on defence and security exports.” Said The chief executive officer of UAE defence enabler Tawazun Economic Council.
The UAE used to import large amount of its defensive equipment from Western countries including the US and the UK. This move to establish EDGE is to reduce the country’s dependency on other countries.
