UAE defense giant EDGE Group joins forces with French firm CMN NAVAL
This JV follows an initial agreement signed during Emirati defense expo IDEX in February, where the two firms announced they will “jointly pursue opportunities that will significantly expand their capabilities and market reach across the naval domain.”
Emirate conglomerate EDGE Group had perhaps the largest exhibit of any company at IDEX 2025. (Agnes Helou / Breaking Defense)
BEIRUT — UAE defense giant EDGE Group has launched an Abu Dhabi-based joint venture (JV) with French shipbuilding firm CMN NAVAL — dubbed AD NAVAL (ADN) — for the manufacturing of small- and “mid-size naval vessels.”
“Leveraging an existing order pipeline worth approximately EUR 7 billion, the JV will bring together both companies under an exclusivity agreement on the segment of high value small to mid-size naval vessels including Corvettes, Offshore Patrol Vehicles (OPVs), High-speed Interceptors, Trimarans, and Landing Craft. The move will see EDGE significantly expand the scope of its capabilities in the naval domain,” EDGE said today in a statement.
The Emirati firm holds a 51 percent stake of the JV, and will “establish a design bureau which will assume intellectual property rights for all future designs,” according to the announcement. Existing non-NATO orders will be transferred to the JV as well.
This JV follows an initial agreement signed during Emirati defense expo IDEX in February, where the two firms announced they will “jointly pursue opportunities that will significantly expand their capabilities and market reach across the naval domain.”
Recently, EDGE Group has focused on international investments, specifically in Latin America and Europe. This is also not the first time EDGE has signed a JV involving non-NATO contracts. Last May, EDGE and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri signed a JV dubbed Maestral in which EDGE was awarded the prime rights to Fincantieri’s non-NATO contracts.
With ADN, EDGE said it will gain access to CMN NAVAL’s global supply chain and integrated logistics support system and software. Additionally, EDGE will be able to begin integrating its weapons systems onto the ships produced as part of the JV.
“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,” EDGE Group’s CEO and Managing Director Hamad Al Marar said in the statement. (In 2023, EDGE announced a $1.1 billion contract to provide ships to the Angolan navy.)
Al Marar added that the JV will enable EDGE to develop cross-complementary integration programs for a number of weapons, radars and systems “onto the vessels being manufactured for non-NATO navies around the world.”
Chairman of CMN NAVAL Pierre Balmer said in the statement that “this partnership not only strengthens our presence in key international markets but also paves the way for enhanced technology transfer, industrial cooperation, and job creation. Together, we look forward to setting new benchmarks in the industry and driving sustainable growth in the defence and maritime sectors.”
Al Marar told Breaking Defense in February that the firm’s plan “is to continuously grow. Our plan is to grow internationally. Our plan is to see how we can establish alliances with countries outside the UAE.”
