What began as a single office in Paris ended as a public expression of a shift the UAE has been building toward for years: from reliable buyer of defence technology to active industrial partner
Eight days before Eurosatory opened its doors, EDGE Group announced a French-registered company headquartered in Paris. By the time the world’s largest defence exhibition closed on Friday, the UAE had signed nine agreements and MoUs with European firms, introduced three AI startups to an international audience, and hosted more than 12,500 visitors at its national pavilion.
What began as a single office in Paris ended as a public expression of a shift the UAE has been building toward for years: from reliable buyer of defence technology to active industrial partner.
Eurosatory 2026, held at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre from June 15 to 19, drew more than 2,600 exhibitors from 68 countries making it the largest edition in the show’s 59-year history. The UAE arrived as one of 40 national pavilions, supported by the Ministry of Defence and the Tawazun Council for Defence Enablement, and organised by Adnec Group. The pavilion featured EDGE Group, Resource Industries and Emirates Cable Corporation Interconnect, and over five days facilitated more than 480 meetings with international partners.
EDGE Group dominated the week’s announcements. The group signed nine agreements and MoUs with European companies, anchored by plans for a joint venture with Italian prime contractor Leonardo targeting more than €4 billion in orders over five years, according to Eurosatory. The venture, in which EDGE would hold a 51 per cent stake, will focus on advanced sensors, radars, combat management systems and airborne electronics. EDGE also signed agreements with Safran Electronics and Defence, Naval Group, Business France, Hungarian firm 4iG Space and Defence Technologies and Spanish group EM&E Group, whose joint venture with EDGE carries an estimated commercial pipeline of $1.725 billion, according to the defence group.
Hamad Al Marar, Managing Director and CEO of EDGE, said in a statement that the group had arrived at Eurosatory not simply to display products but to demonstrate a model. “EDGE Europe marks a turning point,” he said. “We are no longer engaging from a distance. We are here, we are invested, and we are ready to work alongside European industry and governments to deliver the capabilities this moment demands.”
On the same floor, three AI startups built on research from the Technology Innovation Institute, TII, made their first international appearance before a defence audience. TACTICAAI, SIRBAI and CENTAURE.AI, addressing operational decision intelligence, coordinated autonomous systems and AI-powered security operations respectively, represent TII’s first commercial spinouts into the international defence market.
Dr Chaouki Kasmi, President of Technologies and Industrialisation at EDGE and Chief Innovation Officer at TII, told media that European buyers had responded to each platform on its own terms. “Eurosatory has provided strong validation that the challenges we are solving are global,” he said. “While the UAE has been an ideal environment to develop and deploy sovereign AI capabilities, Europe has reinforced the demand for trusted, operationally proven solutions that can integrate into complex defence and security ecosystems.”
Kasmi said the reception had been specific rather than general. “What stands out is the clear interest in the distinct value of each platform,” he said. “TACTICAAI is recognised as a unique operational MultiINT capability, transforming fragmented intelligence into actionable operational insight. SIRBAI showcases cutting-edge AI-enabled swarming capabilities that enhance coordination, adaptability and mission effectiveness. CENTAURE.AI stands apart as a unique operational security platform, strengthening situational awareness and decision-making for security-critical environments.”
On the connection between EDGE’s European push and TII’s international debut. “EDGE’s presence in Paris reflects the UAE’s growing role as a global defence and technology partner,” he said. “TII’s spinouts demonstrate how advanced research can be translated into deployable capabilities that address real operational needs across defence, security and critical infrastructure.”
Kasmi said the principle holding all three platforms together had not changed in the move from Abu Dhabi to Paris. “Across all three platforms, our principle remains unchanged: AI recommends, humans decide,” he said. “Whether it is MultiINT fusion through TACTICAAI, autonomous swarming through SIRBAI, or operational security through CENTAURE.AI, AI must enhance human judgement, not replace it. Speed matters, but trust, accountability and human responsibility remain essential.”
The European context gave the UAE’s week particular weight. Eurosatory 2026 opened one year after the European Union adopted the ReArm Europe plan, a framework mobilising an estimated €800 billion in defence investment, according to EU reports. The show’s record scale reflected a structural broadening of the defence industrial base, with 36 per cent of exhibiting companies attending for the first time, according to COGES Events. EDGE’s own trajectory framed the significance of the week. The group’s export sales stood at $18.5 million at its formation in 2019. By 2025, annual revenue had reached $5 billion, with exports accounting for more than 70 per cent of business. The group ranks 37th on the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s list of the world’s top defence firms and carries an execution contract pipeline exceeding $25 billion, according to EDGE Group.
The UAE Pavilion’s global roadshow continues following its Paris close, with confirmed participation at the El Alamein International Airshow in Egypt from September 8 to 10, the Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference in Jordan in October, the Marrakech Air Show in Morocco from October 7 to 10, the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai from November 10 to 15, the Bahrain International Airshow from November 18 to 20, and the Indo Aerospace Expo and Forum in Jakarta from November 18 to 21.
