ABU DHABI – The Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX), ended in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday with regional and Western military and industry representatives, including from the United States, Britain and France. Large, black drones with the orange logo of EDGE, the UAE’s arms consortium, were on display at this week’s Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX), along with remote-controlled machineguns and other “smart” weapons.
Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the fifth edition of the “Unmanned Systems 2022” conference, accompanying the UMEX and SimTEX exhibitions, started in Abu Dhabi on February 20 under the slogan: “Autonomous systems without borders: a huge breakthrough and promising prospects,” reported the WAM.
The exhibition comes at a time of growing unmanned attacks around the region, including the January 17 drone-and-missile assault by Yemen rebels that killed three oil workers in Abu Dhabi, the first in a series of similar incidents.
The fifth edition of UMEX is the first to include Israel, one of seven newcomers among the 26 countries taking part.
On February 21, the UAE defence ministry signed three deals with domestic and international companies with a total value of more than Dh654.6 million ($178.2 million), including a Dh10 million sale of drone systems to UAE-based International Golden Group.
The conference, organised by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence, attracts a group of thought leaders, high-ranking officials and academic researchers from different countries of the world, with the participation of more than 2,000 experts and specialists, both in person and online.
During the conference, the UAE and its allies warned of the rising threat of drone attacks, as Middle East fighters rapidly acquire a taste for the cheap and easily accessible unmanned systems.
But while the countries called for a collective effort to protect airspaces against the small and often hard to detect targets, one question remained: how to easily stop a drone attack?
“We have to unite to prevent the use of drones from threatening civilian safety and destroying economic institutions,” Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Bowardi, United Arab Emirates’ Minister of State for Defence Affairs, said at a defence conference in Abu Dhabi.
Speakers addressed the importance of developing such systems for civil and military uses but also acknowledged their dangers when used by groups deemed a threat to the region.
While the event will showcase the latest in high-tech drone technology, the host country warned that such weapons are becoming cheaper and more widespread.
They are now part of the arsenals of “terrorist groups that use the systems to terrorise civilians or to impact the global system in a negative way,” said the UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Omar bin Sultan al-Olama.
“That is a challenge that requires us to… work together to ensure that we can create a shield against the use of these systems.”
Swarming drones application
EDGE, an advanced technology group for defence and beyond, and one of the top 25 defence contractors globally, has unveiled swarming drones, its latest application for unmanned aerial systems (UAS), on the first day of the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference (UMEX 2022), taking place at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) until 23 February, said WAM.
Participating as the event’s official Strategic Partner in its second appearance at UMEX, EDGE is showcasing its swarming drones, which are based on the Hunter 2 series of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) developed by HALCON, a regional leader in the production and supply of precision-guided weapons and UAS. Designed to ensure a decisive edge in combat, the ground-launched drones fly in formation to perform a coordinated mission that can overwhelm an adversary.
Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the tactical drones share information with one another to track and maintain their relative positions, and to effectively engage targets. Featuring a maximum take-off weight of 8kg, the swarm of drones are agile and responsive while being directed to their target, which may include enemy fighter jets on the tarmac at a military base, or an incoming convoy of enemy armoured vehicles, for example.
The drones are equipped to operate at cruising speeds that support mission success, with a significant communications range and healthy flight endurance. The winged UAVs can be deployed in a matter of seconds, featuring a wingspan of 1.44m and a length of 1.25m.
Commenting on the addition of swarming drones to HALCON’s already impressive array of UAVs, CEO Saeed Al Mansoori, said, “We see AI playing a critical role in the advancement of the defence sector and beyond, and EDGE and HALCON are determined to remain at the cutting-edge of these developments that are shaping our sector and the wider world, from our base in the UAE. The level of autonomy afforded by these swarming drones is a significant achievement for us, and we are committed to fast-tracking R&D investments in these domains to bring related products to market with speed in the areas of autonomous systems and smart munitions.”
The EDGE stand at UMEX exemplifies HALCON’s technology leadership within the UAV domain, with products including its Shadow 25 and Shadow 50 UAVs; Hunter series of drones and tube launchers; and the recently launched REACH-S unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), on display.
UMEX is the only event in the Middle East dedicated to drones, robots, unmanned systems, and their components, and offers EDGE the opportunity to feature its state-of-the-art capabilities and solutions.
The growth of EDGE
“Autonomous systems are becoming ever more prevalent around the world,” Miles Chambers, EDGE’s director of international business development, told AFP.
On February 22, it unveiled a vehicle-mounted remote-controlled assault rifle that can swivel 360 degrees and has thermal imaging and a laser range finder accurate to 50 centimetres for targets more than two kilometres (1.2 miles) away.
EDGE was looking at “expanding our international footprint” in 2022, said Chambers.
“We are really heavily investing in developing our autonomous capability… as well as in electronic warfare and in our smart munitions. These are our three pillars.”
EDGE, an Abu Dhabi-based defence consortium that groups 25 Emirati firms, was formed three years ago but reached an estimated $4.8 billion in arms sales in 2020 — nearly all of them to the UAE government.
The group was ranked 23rd among the 100 top arms-producing and military services around the globe in 2020, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
EDGE’s most lucrative deals have included maintenance of military jets, worth almost $4 billion, as well as providing guided munitions at $880 million.
EDGE has signed multiple deals with foreign partners, including US firms Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, and Brazil’s Embraer, Khalid Al Breiki, who heads one of EDGE’s five clusters, told AFP at last year’s Dubai Airshow.
