The UAE’s defence industrial technique appears to disclose a deliberate shift towards turning into a worldwide chief in uneven warfare applied sciences. By prioritizing drones, sensible munitions, and EW techniques, i.e., areas with excessive export potential and decrease limitations to entry in comparison with conventional platforms, the UAE is positioning itself as a nimble, cost-competitive provider in an evolving market.
Evidently the EDGE Group needs its options to cater to the demand for reasonably priced and modular options, notably in areas Africa, Asia, and the Center East, the place budgets are constrained however threats from drones and EW are escalating.
This export-centric technique will not be merely transactional however a part of a broader financial imaginative and prescient to diversify the UAE’s economic system past hydrocarbons. Protection exports, which surged from $1.2 billion in 2020 to $4.8 billion in 2024, are a pillar of the UAE’s purpose to achieve $20 billion yearly by 2030.
Finally, the UAE’s protection technique is a calculated response to international tendencies: the proliferation of drone warfare, the centrality of EW in trendy battle, and the rise of cost-conscious procurement.
By avoiding direct competitors in large-platform markets (e.g., fighter jets, primary battle tanks,and so on.) and as an alternative coming into area of interest sectors the place agility and innovation yield outsized returns, the UAE is carving a singular area of interest.
Whereas geo-political realities are an element, it’s doable that the UAE’s extra concerted concentrate on area of interest areas is affecting its curiosity in pursuing fighter and different platforms. That mentioned, ought to EDGE and different Emirati gamers develop into greater defence contractors by commanding area of interest areas, they could discover investments in big-ticket platforms. Certainly, Emirati officers have reportedly signalled some curiosity in Turkish packages just like the KAAN next-generation fighter. This curiosity could also be a long-term play meant to organize the Emirati trade to ultimately interact in massive platforms.
Lastly, the Emirati defence sector has emerged as a strategic enabler for British and European defence corporations in search of to increase their international footprint, notably in markets the place geopolitical sensitivities or export restrictions would possibly in any other case restrict direct entry.
By joint ventures, know-how switch agreements, and localized manufacturing initiatives, the UAE’s defence ecosystem – spearheaded by EDGE Group and Tawazun Council – has change into a vital middleman for Western defence applied sciences.
