UAE invests in drones, robots amid failure in its war on Yemen

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The UAE is spending money like water on drones, robots, and other unmanned weaponry, having endured recent battlefield defeat against the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees.

The UAE has also openly accepted Israeli and US weaponry for fear of drowning in new failures in its war on Yemen.

At this week's Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX), large black drones with the orange insignia of EDGE, the UAE's arms consortium, were on exhibit alongside remote-controlled machineguns and other "smart" weapons.

"Autonomous systems are becoming even 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 military consortium made up of 25 Emirati companies, was founded three years ago, but by 2020 had sold an estimated $4.8 billion worth of armaments, practically all to the UAE government.

The group was placed 23rd among the top 100 arms-producing and military services in the world in 2020, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition that has been committing daily massacres in Yemen since 2015.

Read More: "Everything is destroyed": Remembering Saudi-UAE massacres in Yemen

Although it withdrew ground troops in 2019, it remains a key player in the futile war on Yemen.

EDGE's most valuable contracts are the repair of military jets, valued at about $4 billion, and the provision of guided bombs, valued at $880 million.

It unveiled a vehicle-mounted remote-controlled assault rifle with thermal vision and a laser range finder accurate to 50 centimeters for targets more than two kilometers (1.2 miles) distant on Tuesday.

At last year's Dubai Airshow, Khalid Al Breiki, who oversees one of EDGE's five clusters, told AFP that the company had inked various partnerships with foreign partners, including US firms Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, as well as Brazil's Embraer.

“Israel” is one of seven newcomers among the 26 countries participating in the fifth edition of UMEX.

The UAE Defense Ministry inked three deals worth a total of 654.6 million dirhams ($178.2 million) on Monday, including a 10 million dirhams sale of drone systems to UAE-based International Golden Group.