UAE defence group Edge secures three new contracts

Edge unit SIGN4L will provide security products to local and international customers

Last year, Edge won contracts to export products to the US, western Europe and Africa. Photo: Edge

Edge, the UAE defence conglomerate, has secured three new contracts to supply its products to local and international customers, as it continues to focus on expanding its presence in global markets.

As part of the two international deals, Edge entity SIGN4L — which develops electronic warfare and cyber solutions — will export a number of its V-Protect radio frequency communication jamming systems and Wifinder homeland security solutions.

V-Protect is primarily used for convoy protection to safeguard VIPs, presidential guards, diplomats and military and civil personnel in conflict zones, while Wifinder can be used by law enforcement and security personnel to fight organised crime and terrorism, Edge said on Tuesday.

The third agreement will see a local homeland security entity take possession of SIGN4L’s Activecell solution, a cellular signal analysis system that offers “situational awareness” capabilities.

SIGN4L will manufacture and supply the systems, with deliveries expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year, Edge said.

Edge did not disclose who the customers are, nor the value of the contracts, which were announced on the sidelines of the International Exhibition for National Security and Resilience (ISNR Abu Dhabi), currently taking place in the UAE capital.

“Through exporting ‘Made in the UAE’ products globally, Edge and SIGN4L are contributing to Operation 300bn set out by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology,” Edge said.

The company is developing “a defence industrial base, generating in-country value, developing sovereign capabilities and positioning the UAE as a serious global player within the advanced technology industry”, it added.

As part of the Operation 300bn strategy unveiled last year, the UAE plans to increase the industrial sector's contribution to the country's gross domestic product to Dh300 billion ($81.68bn) by 2031, from Dh133bn in 2021.

In June, MoIAT, Emirates Development Bank and Edge Group signed an agreement to boost manufacturing in the defence sector.

Under the agreement, EDB will provide financing of up to Dh1bn to support and accelerate the industrialisation of Edge’s offerings, while the ministry will support Edge to expand global exports of more than 40 domestically manufactured products and solutions.

Edge's latest contracts are “a testament to our commitment to developing superior solutions that bolster national defence, and further afield to key markets for export”, Waleid Al Mesmari, senior vice president of electronic warfare and cyber technologies at Edge, said.

“We have proven our ability not only to produce systems able to meet complex national defence needs but also to affirm our position in the fiercely competitive international market.”

Set up in 2019, Edge specialises in building advanced technology for weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare, with more than 20 companies under its umbrella.

Last year, the company said it had won contracts to export a range of its products to the US, western Europe and Africa, as part of its ambitions to expand into international markets with locally made solutions.

SIGN4L is also partnering with Israel Aerospace Industries to develop an advanced counter-unmanned aircraft system that can detect and intercept a broad range of threats.