Dubai Airshow 2025: Expanded Hanwha co-operation with EDGE to include work on UAE air defence system

South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace announced at the 2025 Dubai Airshow on 20 November that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Emirati defence technology house EDGE Group aimed at expanding bilateral strategic defence co-operation.

As part of this the two companies have reached a preliminary agreement to explore collaboration on an integrated, multi-layered air defence system for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will also examine opportunities in long-range precision strike systems, unmanned platforms, and defence AI technologies.

Under the agreement Hanwha and EDGE will explore a range of co-operative programmes that leverage Hanwha’s technology portfolio alongside EDGE’s expanding industrial ecosystem. Discussions include advanced air-defence technologies that could enable integrated, multi-layered defence architectures tailored to the UAE’s future needs, as well as potential models for localised sustainment, production, and training, such as options for establishing dedicated maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capacity in the UAE.

Both sides will also evaluate opportunities in defence AI, examining how real-world operational data and Hanwha’s AI modelling expertise can be leveraged for future capability development. In addition, the companies will review concepts for unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and identify potential co-operation areas in shipbuilding and maritime MRO, including technologies that support vessel design, maintenance and lifecycle sustainment.

Also on 20 November EDGE announced it had signed an MoU with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to explore potential areas of co-operation in the aerospace and defence industry as well as related fields. This preliminary agreement reflects an early-stage engagement as both organisations review possibilities that may support shared interests across the defence and advanced technology fields.