UAE's EDGE defense firm reaps windfall from Middle East war

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UAE’s EDGE defense firm reaps windfall from Middle East war, eyes global growth

September 1, 2026

ABU DHABI,— In warehouses across the Abu Dhabi desert, employees are turning out drones and missiles for EDGE Group, a state-owned Emirati arms maker whose products are drawing fresh interest after being tested in Middle East combat, AFP reported.

The UAE faced roughly 3,000 incoming missiles and drones during six months of hostilities between Iran and the United States, AFP said.

The barrage dented the country’s image as a stable business hub but opened a new chapter for EDGE, now pushing into European markets, officials told AFP.

EDGE executive Khaled Al Zaabi described the shift as significant. The firm previously had only a handful of combat-tested products, he told AFP, but that has changed.

“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,” Al Zaabi said.

EDGE has quickly become the leading arms producer in the Arab world, AFP reported, supplying UAE forces while drawing most revenue from overseas sales.

That combat-tested reputation, Al Zaabi said, has become the biggest factor driving sales. Demand jumped by “magnitudes” since the conflict, he said, though he declined to give figures.

The conglomerate formed in 2019 through a merger of Emirati defense manufacturers. Its workforce totals 19,000, and its lineup includes drones, missiles, armored vehicles, AI tools, and warships.

Miles Chambers, senior vice president for international business at EDGE, told AFP that orders across the region were climbing.

Gulf nations are likely to expand military budgets, particularly in air defense, according to Albert Vidal, a research associate with the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

EDGE’s air defense products were unfinished when fighting broke out, he said, but predicted “significant acquisitions” once ready.

Among the products in the pipeline is SkyKnight, a short-range air defense platform slated for 2028. Halcon, the EDGE subsidiary developing it, is aiming for an earlier rollout in stages, its chief executive Saeed Al Shamsi told AFP.

“Us and EDGE are currently focused on developing air defense systems, specifically countering saturation of drone attacks,” he said.

The UAE still leans on pricier American systems such as Patriot and THAAD, and has spent upward of $8 billion on U.S. weaponry since fighting began, AFP reported.

A Patriot missile isn’t necessary for every threat, Al Zaabi argued, since Shahed-style drones can be countered with cheaper drones of EDGE’s own.

Most of Iran’s attacks were intercepted, and EDGE chairman Faisal Al Bannai credited domestically produced jammers with stopping 85 percent of incoming drones, a claim Vidal said would be hard to verify.

At the Tawazun Industrial Park, Michael Deshaies, head of EPI, an EDGE unit supplying parts for aircraft and defense gear, said the goal is to become one of the world’s largest micro-jet engine producers.

A new 5,600-square-meter plant there will focus more on defense than commercial output, he said.

The company hasn’t escaped scrutiny. Amnesty International reported finding EDGE-made armored vehicles equipped with French arms in the hands of Sudanese paramilitary forces, an allegation EDGE rejects.

The UAE has also pushed back on claims, including from United Nations investigators, that it backs those groups.

The acting chief executive officer of Halcon, Saeed Al Shamsi, inspects the assembly line of guided ammunition. UAE’s EDGE military manufacturing facility, Abu Dhabi, UAE, August 2026. Photo: AFP

None of this has slowed EDGE’s growth, which comes mainly through acquisitions or controlling stakes that bring existing market share. Last year, sales abroad made up 70 percent of its $5 billion in revenue.

EDGE had focused mainly on developing nations, including a $500 million investment in Brazil, before opening a Paris office in June to anchor its European push.

Executives are betting the “battle-tested” branding will help in Western markets, where demand has climbed amid the war in Ukraine and calls from Washington for NATO allies to raise defense budgets.

Across Europe, EDGE has taken stakes in, acquired, or partnered with several defense firms. In France, the company intends to launch a drone plant and an engine facility.

EDGE’s strategy involves manufacturing locally within Europe while marketing goods as domestically produced, Vidal said, using the distribution networks of firms it absorbs.

Military spending across Europe has risen for well over a decade and now surpasses the combined totals of Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, he said.

Without a foothold in Western and NATO markets, EDGE’s ambition of ranking among the world’s top 10 defense firms will be hard to achieve, Vidal added.

In November 2025, Italian defense and aerospace contractor Leonardo announced plans to form a new joint venture with Abu Dhabi-based EDGE in 2026 to design and manufacture a range of military technologies in the United Arab Emirates.

(With files from AFP)