Italian defence company Leonardo has signed a deal worth €320 million (Dh1.3 billion) with the UAE’s Edge Group unit Abu Dhabi Ship Building to provide naval combat systems for the Kuwait Naval Force's missile boat programme.
The agreement to equip the Falaj 3 configuration for the Al Dorra missile boat comes as tensions remain high in the region because of the Iran war.
“This contract represents a significant milestone in the strategic partnership with Edge and ADSB,” Leonardo said in a statement on its website, which was confirmed by Edge.
“It reinforces a well-established and successful collaboration that has already led to the delivery of more than 25 naval units.”
Last year, Edge announced the signing of a Dh9 billion ($2.45 billion) contract with Kuwait's Ministry of Defence for the supply of Falaj 3 62-metre missile boats, marking the largest naval shipbuilding export in the region.
“Leonardo has a relationship with ADSB going back over 20 years because they were the supplier of the 76mm main gun on the original Baynunah class of corvettes, which are in service with the UAE navy,” ADSB chief executive David Massey told The National.
Leonardo also provided radar and the computerised combat management system for the Baynunah-class corvettes, which are also being used for Falaj 3 vessels being built by ADSB for the United Arab Emirates Navy.
The same systems are being installed on missile boats for Kuwait's navy, Mr Massey said. ADSB is building eight vessels for Kuwait which are expected to be delivered in five to six years, he added.
“It is much easier for us to have the continuity of working with the same OEM [original equipment manufacturer] and installing the same systems on several classes of vessels … much easier for the team to do all the complex installations when they've already had lots of practice and experience of doing so,” Mr Massey said.
He added that ADSB has become one of Leonardo's largest non-Nato customers for maritime systems.
ADSB, listed on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, manufactures corvettes, offshore patrol vessels and fast patrol boats. It also offers services including maintenance, repair and refit, upgrade and conversion of vessels.
On track to double revenue
This year, ADSB celebrated its 30th anniversary, attended by officials from the UAE and Kuwaiti navies. The company continues to focus on new export orders to increase growth.
“We are confident of announcing more than one export deal in the second half of this year and are on track to more than double our revenue in the next two to three years,” Mr Massey added. ADSB reported a revenue of Dh1.4 billion last year.
World military expenditure reached nearly $3 trillion in 2025, an increase of 2.9 per cent from 2024, according to the think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri).
The top three military spenders – the US, China and Russia – spent $1.48 trillion, or 51 per cent of the global total, Sipri said in April.
Edge, set up in 2019, specialises in building advanced technology for weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare, with more than 35 companies under its umbrella.
The company has played a key role in defending the UAE after Tehran fired a barrage of missiles and drones against infrastructure and energy sites. More than 85 per cent of drones were tackled by jamming systems developed by Edge Group.
“It’s all manufactured in the UAE and has been deployed in such a short time,” Hamad Al Marar, managing director and chief executive of Edge, told The National in an interview at the Make it in the Emirates event in Abu Dhabi in May. “We are very proud that we were readily available in times like this.”
