UAE invests in drones, robots as unmanned warfare takes off

ABU DHABI -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is ploughing money into drones, robots and other unmanned weaponry as autonomous warfare becomes more and more widespread -- including in attacks on the Gulf country by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.

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 machine guns and other "smart" weapons.

The exhibition comes at a time of increasing unmanned attacks around the region by the Houthis that killed three oil workers in Abu Dhabi, the first in a series of similar incidents.

The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to the security and stability of the UAE and the region following these attacks.

"Autonomous systems are becoming ever more prevalent around the world," Miles Chambers, EDGE's director of international business development, told AFP.

"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.

The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting the Houthis since 2015. Although it withdrew ground troops in 2019, it remains a key player in the grinding conflict.

EDGE's most lucrative deals have included maintenance of military jets, worth almost $4 billion, as well as providing guided munitions at $880 million.

On Tuesday (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 50cm for targets more than 2km away.

EDGE was looking at "expanding our international footprint" in 2022, said Chambers.

Ready to 'Step up'

The use of drones and other unmanned weapons has become increasingly common.

Last year, the United States and Israel said an Iranian drone attacked a ship managed by an Israeli billionaire as it sailed off Oman. A British security guard and a Romanian crew member were killed.

In November, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhemi survived an attack by a bomb-laden drone.

Hours before the attack, the leaders of Iraqi factions allied with Iran directly threatened Kadhemi.

According to reports, Israel's 2020 assassination of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was carried out using a remote-controlled machine gun mounted on a pick-up truck.

Drones are also favoured by Yemen's Houthis.

On Monday, Saudi defences destroyed a drone launched in the direction of King Abdullah Airport in Jazan. Sixteen civilians were injured by falling debris.

Another 12 civilians were injured by falling debris after the Saudi military blew up a Houthi drone targeting Abha International Airport on February 10.

In December, the coalition said the Houthis had fired more than 850 drones and 400 ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia in the past seven years, killing 59 civilians.

Ahmed al-Mazrouei, owner of an Emirati company that mainly develops four-wheel drive vehicles and personnel carriers, said the UAE defence industry was ready to "step up" following the attacks on Abu Dhabi.

"The challenges are important because they push us to develop ourselves in order to meet those challenges," he said.

"Our goal is to have more systems and more tech" in the next 10 years, Mazrouei added. "This is an Emirati-made production... and we want to compete globally."

At last year's Dubai Airshow, Khalid al-Breiki, who heads one of EDGE's five clusters, told AFP that EDGE has signed multiple deals with foreign partners, including US firms Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, as well as Brazil's Embraer.

The establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 has also opened up new opportunities.

The fifth edition of UMEX is the first to include Israel, one of seven newcomers among the 26 countries taking part.

On Monday, the UAE defence ministry signed three deals with domestic and international companies at a total value of over 654.6 million dirhams ($178.2 million), including a 10 million-dirham sale of drone systems to UAE-based International Golden Group.