Interview: Edge Group eyes Indonesian market for naval and UAV expansion

UAE-based Edge Group has said it is optimistic about pursuing opportunities in the Indonesian market. As well as products like the Falaj 3 offshore patrol vessel, UAVs have been central to the defence manufacturer’s discussions with Jakarta.

Speaking to Shephard during Indo Defence 2025 in Jakarta, Edge Group managing director and CEO Hamad Al Marar said: “We see that surface vessels are of need to Indonesia. We see that drones are also important for Indonesia, and if we can have them all communicate, we can actually create a good network and good awareness across the whole nation.”

Furthermore, he related, Indonesia possesses a strong industrial base, which combined with a large population and young talent, could see Edge “form engineering alliances and solve the issues that they face”.

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Autonomous systems are one of three foci for Edge, alongside smart weapons and electronic warfare.

“There are never enough people and there are many missions that can be done more economically and efficiently by utilising drones,” said Al Marar. “Whether it’s reconnaissance, surveillance, or even armed, the whole unmanned domain is becoming very important to militaries around the world.”

The importance of UAVs to Edge is seen in its portfolio of 25 different platforms, some of which were added through acquisitions.

“When we look at any project, there’s an element of time, cost and manpower,” the Edge CEO remarked. “What we normally do is find entities that have already started and we conduct acquisitions that are good for both nations.

“That’s the way we’ve expanded,” he continued. “Today Edge is active in more than 100 countries and [our] exports are getting to 53%. This is compared to 2–3% in 2019. That’s significant growth, which tells us that we’re coming in with the right solutions. We’re no longer supplying the product, we’re supplying the solution.”

Al Marar said Edge had acquired just two UAV companies to date.

“One is Anavia and that’s in the vertical-lift domain,” he explained. “That was the right acquisition at the right time.” The UAE-based company acquired a majority shareholding in Anavia in November 2023. Shortly after, in January 2024, Edge announced a UAE Armed Forces contract for 200 Anavia-designed HT-100and HT-750 rotary-winged UAVs, leading Al Marar to remark that “the market is all about timing”.

“The whole unmanned domain is becoming very important to militaries around the world.”— Hamad Al Marar, managing director and CEO of Edge Group

The second entity Edge acquired was a 50% stake in Polish company Flaris which makes small private jets.

“We’re working with them in the unmanned HALE class,” Al Marar noted. “Edge’s Sinyar LAR 3P, for instance, is based on the Flaris LAR01.

Shephard enquired whether, of the many UAVs in its portfolio, some were more important than others.

“No, I think everything is important, everything comes out of need,” he replied. “But what stood out at IDEX (held in Abu Dhabi in February) was the Jeer. The reason for that is we were able to do it not in the traditional way – we’re able to actually bring down cost and it’s extremely competitive.”

In November 2023, Edge announced a sale of 100 Reach-S fixed-wing tactical UAVs to the UAE Armed Forces, although media reports have since indicated this contract later transitioned to the cheaper-to-build Jeer platform.

The HT-100 is known to have been exported, but Shephard asked if Edge had achieved other UAV exports.

“We’re in discussions,” Al Marar responded. “If we’re talking about drones, you need to first of all achieve reliability, to make sure everything works. Then you want it to reach maturity, and only then you’ll be able to actually take it out.

“Our drones are in different stages, whether it’s the Shadow-series one-way armed drone, or VTOLs and light drones that are gaining momentum.”

And where does Edge think unmanned technology will lead in the future?

“It’s very fast moving,” the company’s CEO observed. “I think human-machine collaboration will increase and we do see those systems becoming more intelligent and more autonomous.

“Technology is moving, and there are so many good things that you can do with it. People might think of Edge as being in defence but it’s actually a technology company,” he concluded.

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