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).
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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.”
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