Look: UAE's Edge launches 11 autonomous, unmanned defence solutions at Idex Abu Dhabi

State-owned Edge has unveiled 11 new cutting-edge unmanned and autonomous solutions, including a few UAE-made offerings, with enhanced capabilities for application across air, land, and maritime domains.

Launching the solutions on the opening day of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (Idex 2023), Edge is reinforcing its position as one of the world’s leading defence groups, and an emerging leader in the development and manufacture of technologically advanced autonomous systems.

“Today marks the culmination of extensive investment in industry-leading companies, innovation, and rapid product development to significantly expand our offerings and ensure our local and global customers can access the most cutting-edge solutions in the market. We are proud to debut a portfolio of ‘Made in the UAE’ autonomy-enabled solutions that will enable our customers to expand their reach to new heights and depths across multiple combat environments,” said Mansour Almulla, CEO and Managing Director, Edge Group.

Abu Dhabi-headquartered Edge consolidates more than 20 entities into four core clusters: platforms and systems, missiles and weapons, electronic warfare and cyber technologies, and trading and mission support. The new breakthrough products and systems cover a wide range of missions, including tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), logistics support, and sophisticated combat operations.

“Strengthening sovereign capabilities and bringing globally competitive products to market are strategic priorities for Edge, and launching 11 new solutions in this critical domain reflects our steadfast commitment to international security and prosperity,” Almulla said.

Edge is one of the world’s leading advanced technology groups, established to develop agile, bold and disruptive solutions for defence and beyond, and to be a catalyst for change and transformation. Entering a new era of autonomy, Edge brings to market 11 state-of-the-art solutions across air, land, and maritime domains.

Air

Providing a high-tech and autonomous means of carrying out a wide range of military operations, JENIAH is an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) with a substantial payload, extended range, and capable of operating at high speed. Displayed alongside the UCAV is its Ground Control Station which is designed to monitor and command the system.

With an even higher payload of 500kg and a maximum range of 360km at a cruising speed of 120 km/h, Air Truck is designed for strategic logistics support such as supplying troops in remote locations, medical evacuation, and reconnaissance.

Another addition to the QX range, QX6-50 is developed for logistics purposes for military and civilian applications. Capable of carrying a 50kg payload for up to 200km, the rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can operate autonomously and is highly modular with other QX variants for ease of maintenance.

Designed to accelerate product development and reduce time to market, the Instrumented Testing Platform is a fixed-wing UAV that provides for in-house flight testing of air-to-surface munitions.

Harmonising manned and unmanned aviation, Edge showcased two unmanned traffic management (UTM) solutions following a strategic investment in UTM provider High Lander.

Universal UTM offers real-time, autonomous monitoring of flight plans and drone activity, with the capability to approve or deny flights, suggest alternative routes, and react to mid-flight changes. Also displayed during the event, the interactive Mission Control Platform allows users to automate and control a drone fleet to execute operations, and offers real-time airspace control.

Land

Following the acquisition of a majority stake in Estonia-based Milrem Robotics, Europe’s leading developer of autonomous systems and robotics, Edge showcased three of its cutting-edge unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). THeMIS Combat UGV provides high precision direct fire support for manoeuvre units and acts as a force multiplier, while THeMIS Observe UGV is built for tactical reconnaissance missions with a variety of sensors for day and night operations.

Serving as a wingman to mechanised units, Type X Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) is rapidly deployable alongside traditional infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to provide overmatching firepower and tactical usage on the battlefield. Milrem Robotics’ unmanned systems are complemented with Milrem’s Intelligent Functions Kit MIFIK that provides autonomous capabilities and a command-and-control system intended specifically for robotic systems that integrate multiple dissimilar unmanned aerial and ground assets.

Demonstrating their commitment to advancing in-house capabilities, Edge presented an 8x8 Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) concept, Nimr RCV, which is built for tactical mobility, high performance, maneuverability, and speed. Modular in design, the multi-role platform can lower lethality risks by increasing standoff distance from enemy units.

Sea

Designed for maritime ISR missions and underwater mine detection, ADSB’s 170 Detector USV can be configured for manned or unmanned operations to perform a range of surface warfare, surveillance and mapping missions for naval and civilian forces. 17m in length, it can operate for 4 hours in silent electric propulsion mode or at speeds up to 40 knots in diesel mode.

Visitors can check out the latest offerings from Edge and its portfolio of companies at Hall 5 in Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) till Friday.

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