Increased Military Cooperation: UAE’s EDGE Between Israeli Acquisitions and Strategic Collaborations with Egypt

In recent days, news has spread about the acquisition of an Israeli security company by a UAE technology group called EDGE. Research reveals that EDGE is one of the prominent names that participated in the International Defense Exhibition held by Egypt in 2024. It has also come to light that its name has been associated with international violations for human rights.

EDGE is a UAE state-owned defense group with over 25 entities dedicated to developing and producing advanced defense solutions. The group has integrated several national defense companies and established joint ventures with international firms, with a declared policy of enhancing local production, reducing reliance on Western products, and competing with them more effectively.

Strategic Partnerships Between EDGE and Egypt

The official website of the State Information Service announced a visit by a delegation representing the UAE company and its meeting with the Minister of Military Production on February 29, 2024. During the meeting, ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two sides in the fields of military and technological manufacturing were discussed, as well as opportunities for exchanging expertise and localizing technology.

At that time, the minister explicitly announced that the ministry is keen to form a strategic partnership to benefit from the UAE’s EDGE and its subsidiaries, LAHAB and NIMR, noting the importance of leveraging UAE manufacturing, technological capabilities, and human expertise present in these companies.

Research shows that NIMR is a leading manufacturer of armored vehicles in the UAE, with over 20 years of industry experience. As for LAHAB, it specializes in ammunition manufacturing with over 25 years of experience. This meeting comes within the framework of strengthening relations between Egypt and the UAE, especially in the defense, technology, and military industries, which was previously discussed by Sisi and bin Zayed during his visit to Egypt in April 2023, where they discussed mutual military cooperation, and this cooperation between Egypt and EDGE came as a result of this.

History of Cooperation

This was not the beginning of cooperation between EDGE and Egypt. The company had previously participated in the International Defense Exhibition (Edex 2023) held in Egypt in December 2023. EDGE showcased many of its products, such as sniper rifles and machine guns. In naval weapons, the company presented modern naval vessels. In the field of autonomous systems, it presented products within the framework of smart weapons. They also showcased advanced electronic warfare solutions, such as a drone counter-system and a cellular phone interception solution.

Upon reviewing and further researching the history of the company’s participation in Egyptian events, ‘Taqasee’ noted that its participation in 2023 was the second time, as it had previously participated in (Edex 2021) and showcased a wide range of defense industry solutions, products, and services offered by 10 of its entities: AL TARIQ, CARACAL, ADASI, NIMR, ADSB, JASOOR, SIGN4L, BEACON RED, and AMMROC.

Among what was showcased were drones, precision-guided missiles, guided ammunition systems, military vehicles, and electronic warfare and intelligence security solutions, within a wide range of its products. During this exhibition, the UAE established a $14 billion investment fund to support its activities in the defense industry in Egypt, through various defense sectors, according to Tactical Report.

With further research, ‘Taqasee’ found a report discussing EDGE’s role and size in the development of the UAE’s defense industry. Egypt was mentioned as one of the UAE’s most important customers in terms of sales volume in its defense industry exports.

According to IISS, UAE arms exports have boomed and accelerated over the past decade, especially in the last five years, and the country’s most important customers in terms of sales volume are Egypt, Jordan, and Libya. It is worth noting that the IISS report was published in 2019, which gives an indication of the volume of cooperation with Egypt and its longevity.

In another article by Breaking Defense published in 2022, EDGE’s research revealed regional partners and negotiations with Jordan and Egypt for complementary defense production, stating that they seek to work with these countries to build capabilities for their respective defense sectors.

Success on the Ruins of Human Rights Violations

Based on investigations by Facing Finance, a non-profit organization that documents and takes a stand against corporate violations in the fields of environment, climate, labor, human rights, corruption, and any use of weapons against international humanitarian law, the UAE was among the countries listed on their lists.

When searching their databases for EDGE, numerous data points appeared documenting the UAE’s actions against human rights in several conflicts in multiple countries such as Yemen and Libya. Upon deeper research in the databases about Egypt’s relationship to this matter, it became clear that Egypt was also listed on Facing Finance’s lists as a recipient of weapons, specifically missiles, from EDGE, exported by the UAE. Not only that, but also for participating in human rights violations and attacks on civilians in Libya. The data documented that the weapons deal was requested in 2020 and received in 2021.

Five years after its establishment, the UAE’s EDGE defense group celebrated its growth in December 2024 with an accumulated order backlog worth $12.8 billion. Since its inception in 2019, Edge has expanded its product portfolio from 30 products to 201 products, becoming one of the world’s major military suppliers. Edge stated in data on its website that its annual revenues reached $4.9 billion in 2024, and it now has products in 91 countries.

Edge has entered into 23 joint ventures with other countries to expand its production and development, and the company has made 13 international acquisitions, expanding its presence in emerging markets in Latin America, where it launched its first international office in Brazil in 2023.

After normalizing relations with Israel, Edge signed an agreement with Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) to develop unmanned aerial systems. It then invested in the Israeli company High Lander, a drone air traffic management system provider, in 2023 during the war on Gaza.

At the end of January 2025, the company announced that it had acquired 30% of the shares of the Israeli company “Thirdeye,” about which news has recently spread, for $10 million. This company is an Israeli security company specializing in the development of artificial intelligence systems for security and defense, which was founded in 2010 and works to provide advanced solutions in the fields of surveillance and protection. This acquisition reflects the increasing cooperation between the UAE and Israel in the field of military technology and security.