Edge and CMN Naval create multi-billion dollar joint venture to build high value niche naval vessels
The CMN OPV CL55. (Photo: CMN)
The new company will take possession of the existing non-NATO order pipeline, said to be worth billions of dollars.
UAE-based defence firm Edge and naval shipbuilding group CMN Naval have signed a contract to create a multi-billion dollar joint venture.
The JV will be known as AD Naval (ADN), and will build vessels within the high value, small-to-mid-size naval niche, from corvettes, through offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) like CMN’s CL55, to high-speed interceptors, trimarans and landing craft.
Based in Abu Dhabi (existing home of Edge HQ), ADN will take over the existing non-NATO order pipeline, worth around €7 billion (US$7.6 billion).
Related Articles
How UAE defence giant EDGE Group plans to double its exports
IDEX 2025: UAE’s Edge Group notches up $2.9 billion and two dozen agreements
New three-way deal spurs mine countermeasure advances in UAE
The creation of the JV will significantly expand Edge’s scope and capabilities in the naval domain.
As part of the JV’s remit, it will explore the integration of existing Edge autonomy and smart weapons solutions into the vessels it builds. Edge will also establish a design bureau which will assume intellectual property rights for all future vessel designs.
Holding a 51% stake in the new company, Edge will gain access to CMN Naval’s global supply chain and its integrated logistics support system – a move designed to increase the cost efficiency of the JV, and streamline its operational performance.
Edge Group managing director and CEOT Hamad Al Marar, said the new JV exemplified the group’s strategy of “measured growth through international partnership with the world’s leading players across the air, land, and maritime domains”.
On the specific advantages of partnering with CMN, he added: “The scope of our collaboration with CMN, which is particularly strong in Edge’s key focus markets in Africa, for example, will enable us to combine our expertise, and to share technology and know-how in the naval domain to build superior vessels in the UAE.”
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![“We must end the mentality of ever larger platforms”: Why USVs are scaling]()
“We must end the mentality of ever larger platforms”: Why USVs are scaling
Multiple USV programme milestones announced last week, aligned with a reinforcement of the Royal Navy’s vision for a hybrid fleet, point to innovation-led ambition but also to a structural calculation with resource ceilings that neither London nor Washington can ignore.
-
![As uncrewed naval systems advance, capabilities to counter them are emerging]()
As uncrewed naval systems advance, capabilities to counter them are emerging
Research programmes and system procurement efforts to counter uncrewed surface and underwater vehicle threats are accelerating as naval drone uptake spreads.
-
![US Coast Guard to receive the first three Offshore Patrol Cutters in FY2026 and FY2027]()
US Coast Guard to receive the first three Offshore Patrol Cutters in FY2026 and FY2027
After recording a nearly six-year delay in the OPC schedule, the USCG intends to advance with the programme, reaching multiple milestones in the short term.
