UAE defence giant EDGE capitalizes on Middle East war to expand globally

In warehouses scattered across Abu Dhabi's desert landscape, workers assemble drones and missiles for EDGE, the UAE's state-owned defence conglomerate. The company is riding a surge in global appetite for weapons that have proven themselves in actual combat—a credential that, until recently, it lacked. Over six months of fighting between the US and Iran, nearly 3,000 missiles and drones struck the UAE, battering its reputation as a stable oasis but handing EDGE an unexpected asset: proof that its products work.

Khaled Al Zaabi, a senior EDGE executive, put it plainly to reporters visiting the Abu Dhabi headquarters. Before the conflict, the company could claim only a handful of battle-tested systems. After it, the inventory of proven weapons had grown substantially. He declined to name specific sales figures, but the demand shift was unmistakable—"magnitudes more," he said, than anything the company had seen before. That combat credential became the absolute selling point, the thing that separated EDGE from competitors still working from theory.

EDGE itself is young. Formed in 2019 by consolidating several UAE defence contractors, it now employs 19,000 people and manufactures everything from drones and missiles to armoured vehicles, artificial intelligence systems, and naval ships. In just a few years, it has become the Arab world's largest defence firm. The business model has shifted decisively toward exports—last year, 70 percent of its $5 billion in revenue came from sales outside the UAE. The company is no longer primarily a supplier to the Emirati armed forces. It is a global weapons manufacturer.

The immediate market is regional. Gulf states are expected to dramatically increase defence spending in the years ahead, particularly on air defence systems. EDGE is positioning itself to capture that demand. The company is developing SkyKnight, a short-range air defence system designed to intercept drones and missiles at a fraction of the cost of American systems like the Patriot or THAAD. The UAE has already spent more than $8 billion on those American platforms since the war began, but EDGE's logic is straightforward: you do not need an expensive Patriot to shoot down a cheap Iranian drone. A cheaper, locally made alternative will do the job. The company hopes to release SkyKnight by 2028, though executives are exploring ways to accelerate that timeline by rolling out the system in phases.

During the conflict, EDGE claimed that 85 percent of drone interceptions were achieved using locally produced electronic jammers—a figure that independent analysts say is difficult to verify but that nonetheless signals the company's growing technical capability. The UAE absorbed the heaviest Iranian strikes in the early weeks of the war, which has only intensified the push to develop homegrown air defence, drone, and jamming technologies. At Tawazun Industrial Park in Abu Dhabi, EDGE is building a 5,600-square-metre facility to manufacture micro-jet engines for autonomous vehicles, with a focus on defence applications rather than commercial ones. The company aspires to become one of the world's largest producers of these engines.

But EDGE's ambitions extend far beyond the Middle East. In June, the company established its European headquarters in Paris, signalling a major strategic pivot. The company has begun acquiring stakes in Western defence firms, announcing joint ventures and purchasing majority holdings across the continent. It plans to open an engine production facility and drone factory in France. The strategy is deliberate: acquire companies with established market access, then leverage those networks to sell products manufactured in Europe under the "locally made" label while also benefiting from the credibility and supply chains of the acquired firms.

The timing aligns with a historic shift in European military spending. Defence budgets across NATO have been climbing for more than a decade and now exceed the combined spending of Latin America, Africa, and South Asia. The Russia-Ukraine war has accelerated that trend, and the United States has pressured NATO members to increase their defence commitments further. For EDGE, this represents an enormous opportunity. The company cannot reach the top tier of global defence contractors—a goal it has publicly stated—without securing significant sales to Western and NATO countries. Europe is where that battle will be won or lost.

The expansion has not been without friction. Amnesty International has alleged that EDGE armoured vehicles equipped with French weapons were used by Sudanese paramilitary forces, though EDGE has denied selling weapons deployed in Sudan, and the UAE government has rejected broader allegations of backing those forces. The controversy has not slowed the company's international push. For EDGE, the Middle East war provided both a testing ground and a calling card. Now it is taking that credential to the world's largest defence market, betting that battle-proven weapons will open doors that money alone cannot.