State-owned defense company EDGE has secured new deals worth AED 7.13 billion ($1.9 billion), representing the bulk of the latest contracts announced at a major exposition in Abu Dhabi.

The new contracts, bagged by the company’s subsidiaries Halcon and ADASI, represent more than 85% of the AED 8.14 billion deals signed during the second day of the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) and the Naval Defence Exhibition (NAVDEX) 2023, according to Tawazun Council.

The cumulative value of the deals signed during IDEX and NAVDEX has now reached AED12.64 billion, the state defense acquisitions agency said.

The biggest deal secured by EDGE’s Halcon is worth AED 4.7 billion. It covers the supply of advanced precision-guided glide munitions to the UAE Armed Forces. Halcon also secured a deal worth AED1.1 billion for its HUNTER loitering munitions.

The third contract worth AED1.33 billion will be for ADASI, another EDGE subsidiary, to supply SHADOW systems to the UAE Armed Forces.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, EDGE had a book value of around $5 billion in 2022.

Other contracts

The latest deals also include two agreements with France’s Thales Six, one is worth AED 316 million to develop and support ground station radio, and the other is for the procurement of CMS systems for AED159 million.

German company Rheinmetall secured a contract worth AED57 million, while another deal worth AED11 million went to US company Harris International.

(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)

Cleofe.maceda@lseg.com