UAE’s EDGE expands global footprint with Brazil office

EDGE Group said it will open a new regional office in Brazil ‘shortly’, as the UAE’s defence equipment maker has grown into a key global defence technology firm.

The company said the new office, which will be in the federal capital Brasilia, will be managed by a dedicated and experienced team of professionals from within the defence industry and local business ecosystems.

EDGE announced that it will open a LATAM office at the LAAD Defence & Security 2023 in Rio de Janeiro, where the group is participating for the first time with 10 of its portfolio companies, who are showcasing approximately 50 advanced solutions and products, covering the domains of autonomous air and land systems, naval systems, precision-guided munitions, small arms and ammunition and electronic warfare.

We’re at Latin America’s largest and most important defence and security trade show – #LAAD2023, taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We look forward to showcasing our diverse product portfolio within a key market for #LeadingEDGE ??#BeyondPossibilities pic.twitter.com/i5wbHKIJYl

— EDGE (@_edgegroup) April 11, 2023

“As we expand our global footprint, we are now taking a keen commercial interest in these markets to showcase our industry-leading advanced technology and defence solutions, forging new partnerships and assisting in the development of national defence capabilities,” said Mansour AlMulla, managing director and CEO of EDGE.

The announcement comes on the heels of the defence firm’s successful participation at the IDEX 2023 defence exhibition in Abu Dhabi, where it secured contracts worth $5bn and more than $1.1bn of which were in international export deals.

Major deals signed at IDEX 2023 in February include a landmark EUR1bn export deal with the Angolan Navy to build and export a fleet of best-in-class 71-metre corvettes and contracts worth over Dhs13bn with the UAE Armed Forces for tactical communications and data-link solutions as well as EDGE’s THUNDER and DESERT STING 25 Precision-Guided Munition among others.

The company also signed over 20 agreements and joint ventures with several major industry players including Raytheon Emirates, ICOMM, John Cockerill, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, HAL, L3Harris and Fincantieri.

EDGE’s growing portfolio

Meanwhile, the UAE merged 25 government-owned and independent companies in November 2019 to create EDGE – one of the Middle East’s biggest defence groups.

Since its founding three years ago, EDGE has risen into the upper echelons of the global defence industry with a portfolio that spans both the defence and civilian realms.

Today, the defence group’s portfolio is made up of 20 subsidiaries consolidated into four clusters, capable of manufacturing a range of advanced products and solutions covering autonomous systems, precision munitions, land systems, small arms, shipbuilding, secure communications, intelligence, electronic warfare, precision manufacturing and training.

EDGE’S aggressive product development roadmap is built on a strong industrial blueprint which has seen it increase the number of its products by 400 per cent since 2019. Its portfolio has more than 100 products and solutions, with more than 70 of these having been launched and developed since its inception in November 2019.

Read: Abu Dhabi-based Edge Group acquires 70% stake in Gradeone

Last year, the Abu Dhabi-based firm had an order intake above $5bn – of this figure $1.5bn or 30 per cent of total order intake, was in export sales, a 500 per cent year-on-year increase from the previous year.

EDGE’s growth strategy is powered by the advanced programmes and initiatives offered at its recently opened state-of-the-art Learning & Innovation Factory, an Industry 4.0 operational excellence and advanced technology learning and demonstration centre that combines theory, technology and practice under one roof to drive modernisation while encouraging new approaches to its day-to-day challenges across portfolio companies.

Read: UAE’s Edge Group invests $14m in tech company High Lander