EDGE Group has emerged as one of the fastest-growing businesses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With the aim of expanding the group’s global footprint and playing a pivotal role in realising the UAE’s vision for self-sufficiency, Mansour Mohamed AlMulla’s dynamic leadership has positioned the group on a high-growth trajectory.

In an exclusive interview with Editor – Raksha Anirveda, Mansour Mohamed AlMulla, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EDGE Group, eloquently discussed the group’s business activities, focus on innovation and advanced technologies, global expansion, and more. Here are the edited excerpts:

RA: EDGE Group was formed by consolidating many of the UAE’s advanced technology aerospace companies into one group as part of the country’s vision for self-sufficiency. How has the journey been since inception, and to what extent has the aim of one brand, more efforts, and a focus on UAE’s self-sufficiency helped the growth and expansion of your business?
MMA: As a leading advanced technology and defence group, the consolidation of defence companies under EDGE has enabled us to collaborate more effectively, focus our efforts on relevant research and development (R&D), consistently upgrade our capabilities, and progress efficiently and swiftly, delivering for our key clients and markets. Established to develop agile, bold, and disruptive solutions for defence and beyond, EDGE has become a catalyst for change and transformation. It is dedicated to bringing breakthrough innovations, products, and services to market with greater speed and efficiency, positioning the UAE as a leading global hub for future industries, and creating clear paths within the sector for the next generation of highly-skilled talent to thrive.

EDGE is championing UAE-made, technologically advanced products and solutions. We have adopted the best practices from the private sector, learned from our competitors, and focused on a process of continuous improvement to ensure that we deliver the best products for our customers. Aligned with the main objectives of ‘Operation 300bn’ set out by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, EDGE is developing a defence industrial base in the UAE to generate in-country value through the introduction and use of Industry 4.0 technologies, grow sovereign capabilities, and position the UAE as a serious global player within the advanced technology industry. We are exporting our ‘Made in the UAE’ products globally to contribute to the nation’s GDP.

RA: Looking ahead to the next five years or a decade, do you have an elaborate plan for the group’s expansion in widening the product range and firming its footprint globally?
MMA: We will continue to merge commercial market innovations with military capabilities, utilising breakthrough technologies, including AI, to become a global leader in the field, particularly in the areas of autonomous air, land, and sea solutions, smart weapons, and cyber technologies, including electronic warfare and secure communications. The future is exciting for EDGE as we operate on a much larger global scale. In line with our objectives, we will continue to deliver products and services with speed and expand our exports. The consolidation of all sovereign defence entities under EDGE Group has enabled us to collaborate between subsidiary companies, focus on collaborative R&D efforts, consistently upgrade our capabilities, and progress together efficiently and swiftly to deliver for our key clients and markets.

RA: Taking note of EDGE Group’s three key focus areas—precision-guided munitions, autonomous systems, and electronic warfare—what major landmarks have been achieved to date? How well has the group performed on the exports front, and which export markets are you focusing on?
MMA: As EDGE continues to collaborate with some of the industry’s biggest names, we have reached significant milestones. In addition to launching 14 breakthrough autonomous products and solutions, we have signed over 20 major international agreements this year with major industry players.

It is worth noting that in 2022, EDGE reported a $5 billion order intake, with 35 percent of that coming from international exports, marking a 500 percent year-on-year increase. In terms of our current and recent partnerships, we are cooperating with some of the industry’s biggest and most respected names, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Airbus, L3Harris, Raytheon, Embraer, and Rheinmetall, among others.

EDGE is always open to cooperation and collaboration with the best defence companies in the world. We have clearly defined areas of defence technology focus and are interested in collaborating with governments in those areas if they are prepared to do so and if it makes business sense.

Aside from our home market and neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council states, we have a key focus on nations in Africa, Asia, and South America, where EDGE solutions can support security and defence efforts. We believe that EDGE is not simply a vendor; instead, we offer to work with these countries to build capabilities for their defence sectors. We recently announced the opening of a LATAM regional office in Brasilia, Brazil, which is our first international office outside of the UAE.

RA: EDGE Group has expanded its collaboration with Indian DPSUs HAL and BDL, as well as with private sector companies ICOMM and Sagar Defence Engineering. The group has shown keen interest and commitment to the government’s Make in India initiative, meeting the nation’s defence needs and tapping into the Indian defence market. Please provide a detailed account of your India-specific plans in both the short term and long term.
MMA: Building partnerships and seeking valuable opportunities for collaboration in the Indian market aligns with our key objectives, and we look forward to exploring these opportunities further. Our partnerships in India will allow us to benefit from greater knowledge sharing and utilise our individual strengths and synergies to reinforce our support of the overall Make in India strategy.

After our Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), we are exploring opportunities for collaboration, including joint design and development of missile systems and unmanned aerial vehicles. Both EDGE and HAL have unique offerings that have the potential to complement each other, and in the long term, this may result in sharing advanced technologies and manufacturing capabilities.

EDGE’s collaborations with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and ICOMM are focused on supporting India’s sovereign defence manufacturing initiatives. Under the MoU with BDL, variants of AL TARIQ’s LR-PGMs will be developed and produced at BDL’s state-of-the-art facilities, adding a modular, advanced long-range capability to their precision-guided munition offerings. The agreement with ICOMM enables CARACAL to conduct a Transfer of Technology that will allow ICOMM to offer a comprehensive line of small arms to meet the requirements set out by the Indian government’s fast-track procurement for the Indian Army.

Additionally, earlier this year, EDGE entity Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB), a leader in the design, new build, repair, maintenance, refit, and conversion of naval and commercial vessels, signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sagar Defence Engineering to cooperate in assessing the viability of entering into a definitive agreement for the provision of 12-meter platforms, as well as a ToT program for the Indian market.

RA: EDGE Group recently invested in Milrem Robotics and other companies. What were the main reasons for making these investments? Are these entities going to be merged into the group? Do you think acquiring a majority stake in Milrem will add more value to EDGE’s product range and provide leverage to capture export markets, including India?
MMA: EDGE’s investment in Milrem Robotics, a company with an established reputation as a leader in the fields of robotics and autonomous systems, is also an investment in the future of EDGE, which is laser-focused on the development of such capabilities across its multiple domains. It will allow us to realise both companies’ objectives and ambitions with agility in an increasingly diverse and fiercely competitive marketplace, to share technology and expertise, and to provide Milrem with the necessary support to expand its resources and talent base for further international growth as part of EDGE.

In recent months, we have been fortunate to make several acquisitions that have further strengthened our portfolio.

This year, EDGE also acquired two UAE-based companies that joined our Trading & Mission Support cluster. These include GRADEONE Group, which specialises in providing military hardware, equipment, pyrotechnics, ammunition, and supplies to various military sectors, and TRUST International Group (TRUST), a defence trading specialist and a major supplier of premium solutions to the UAE Armed Forces and security establishments.

RA: EDGE Group has been concentrating on and giving special focus to autonomous systems. Is this a step to prepare the group for the future of the industry and position it as a leader?
MMA: One of our many strategic priorities at EDGE is to help build sovereign capabilities and contribute to economic growth by expanding and diversifying our autonomous product portfolio for export. To accomplish these goals, our development programs and strategies have focused on three main domains:

First, advancing autonomous capabilities and competitive solutions across air, land, and sea. The aim here is to create sought-after systems that can neutralise threats using autonomous capabilities, with AI and Machine Learning features. Second, we are also focused on electronic warfare (EW) technologies, including secure communications and countermeasures to deal with threats. Lastly, we are seeking out advanced armaments that will see the development of next-generation smart weapons.

By investing in autonomous technology, we believe our efforts will spark a thriving local defence sector secured by innovations, partnerships, and an experienced workforce.

RA: Tell us about the Jeniah air combat vehicle (UCAV) concept, which was IDEX’s star exhibit, as well as the Garmoosha, Reach-S UAV, Shadow 25/50. Have your efforts to sell Al Tariq, Thunder, and Desert Sting PGMs in the GCC, Africa, and Southeast Asia yielded positive results?
MMA: Jeniah, our latest Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), sets new benchmarks in performance capabilities while maintaining an attractive price point. At our core, we prioritise swift product development without compromising on quality, ensuring that we bring cutting-edge solutions to the market quickly.

The Garmoosha and Shadow systems are currently in the production stages. We are continuously strengthening our foundations and building in-house capabilities to deliver advanced products and solutions, through which we aim to empower defence forces and safeguard national interests.

The Al Tariq is a mission-proven PGM that has seen significant export success in both the GCC and Africa. Earlier this year, two key MoUs were signed with HAL and BDL. The MoU between Al Tariq and HAL aims to integrate the Al Tariq line of PGMs onto HAL’s platforms, while the MoU between Al Tariq and BDL explores opportunities to manufacture the Al Tariq line of PGMs at BDL’s world-class facilities.

The Thunder and Desert Sting lines of PGMs have also yielded positive results, as we signed major deals earlier this year to supply the UAE Armed Forces with the Thunder P3L and Desert Sting 25. Both PGMs are currently in the production stages and are set to provide a cost-effective, precision aerial strike solution.