With new Paris office, UAE’s EDGE Group sees Europe as ‘next large market’: CEO

PARIS — The CEO of Emirati defense giant EDGE Group said the company chose France for its next international office because Europe stands to be its “next large market” — even if the continent presents its own challenges.

“Europe is unique. Europe does not import. Usually they want European solutions. For European solutions, you need to be in Europe,” EDGE CEO Hamad Al Marar told Breaking Defense on the sidelines of the Eurosatory defense exhibition outside Paris. The company plans to inaugurate the new EDGE Europe office later today.

Al Marar noted EDGE already has a presence in Europe through prior defense deals and subsidiaries like Estonia’s Milrem Robotics. The firm knows how to work with NATO customers. But, he said, “we just needed a full-fledged presence in Europe.”

And Europe, he said, “requires new players.”

Al Marar said the company chose Paris, in particular, for its new office mostly due to France’s decades-long “consistent” political relationship with the United Arab Emirates, as well as defense relationships based around major weapons platforms the UAE acquired from France, from fighter jets to main battle tanks. (France deployed fighter jets to the UAE to aid in the defense of French military installations amid Iranian attacks in March.)

EDGE is looking to do business throughout the continent, Al Marar said, though he acknowledged one market may be especially challenging to crack: Germany.

“Every market is an opportunity, I just think Germany is one of the difficult ones,” he said. “They’re tough, and that’s in a good way. … They can build everything and they have capacities. On the contrary other European countries do not enjoy similar capacities.”

Al Marar said EDGE “learn[s]” from German industry, and that the two have a “respectful competition.”

Overall the EDGE CEO said the company has seen “huge interest” from companies globally in the wake of Iran’s attacks on the UAE. As he previously told Breaking Defense, EDGE systems aided in the nation’s defense of its homeland by spoofing and jamming incoming Iranian drones.

“As they say, war is never good, but it showed a level of readiness that we had in the UAE armed forces and it showed how robust our industry is to really stand and support our troops,” he said. “In such conflicts you get to be put to the test. … We did very well.”

He highlighted Africa, in particular, as the region outside the Middle East with the most immediate interest in EDGE products, suggesting African nations were not just interested in military equipment but systems useful for missions like homeland defense, border security and intelligence.

“Most of our sales are going to Africa, followed by Latin America, followed by Asia, and hopefully, Europe,” he said.