EDGE Unveils First UAE-made Family of Smart Loitering Munitions at IDEX 2021
21.2.2021 19:08:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
EDGE, an advanced technology group for defence and beyond, today launches its first family of multirotor loitering munitions, the QX range. In addition, Shadow 50 and Shadow 25, Rash 2 gliding munition kit, as well as new variants of the RW24 range – all designed and manufactured in the company’s first year of operations – were unveiled on the first day of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2021), that is underway at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre until 25 February.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210221005030/en/
EDGE launches QX range- its first family of multirotor loitering munitions (Photo: AETOSWire)
The unveiling of the Class-1 electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) took place at the EDGE pavilion in the presence of His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, CEO and Managing Director of EDGE and Ali Al Yafei, CEO of ADASI.
His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, CEO & Managing Director, EDGE, said: “Right now, drone technology is revolutionising our world with the full potential of unmanned and autonomous capabilities still to be further explored – not just in the military sector, but the commercial sector too.”
He added: “Through launching the first UAE-made family of smart loitering drones, EDGE marks a significant milestone as a key technology enabler and in boosting the country’s autonomous capabilities and AI integration. With the future increasingly relying on unmanned systems that provide a higher degree of tactical flexibility, we have invested extensively to fast-track R&D investments in these domains, bringing related products to market with speed.”
The QX family of loitering munitions comprises four products: QX-1, a micro-UAV, QX-2, a mini-UAV, QX-3, a small UAV, and QX-4, which features an impressive vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fixed wing. The precision-guided systems use sophisticated AI algorithms to target and strike, boasting an accuracy of 1 m CEP (circular error probable) – with an aim similar to laser guided munitions. Built to launch in any environment or terrain, the entire QX family of UAVs are lightweight, man portable, and comprise VTOL capabilities.
The second range of loitering munitions consists of Shadow 50 and Shadow 25. As the name implies, Shadow 50 can carry a payload of 50kg – exactly double its counterpart. Shadow 25 is a high-speed system equipped with a jet engine and boasts a short reaction time. Delivering high precision strike against fixed targets and advanced guidance capabilities, these UAVs leverage Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and can fly using video navigation systems in GPS denied Environment.
Also launched on Day 1 of IDEX, the Rash 2 is a fixed-wing guidance kit for mortars and other in-house designed payloads, capable of gliding in flight and directing munitions to ground targets, available in different sizes to accommodate varying payload capacity, range, and endurance. ADASI has secured AED 55 million contract to supply Rash 2 to the UAE Armed Forces, marking the first order of the newly launched product.
Three new additions to the RW-24 range were also launched in time for IDEX 2021. The newly unveiled RW-24 Seeker is equipped with a thermal automatic seeker that enable greater accuracy of engagement of moving targets and increased functionality within GPS-denied environments.
The RW-24 Extended Warhead and RW-24 Extended Range variants increase the payload capacity from 8 kg to 13 kg, enabling the drone to carry additional fuel or to increase the size of the warhead.
EDGE is an advanced technology group that ranks among the top 25 military suppliers in the world.
About EDGE
EDGE is an advanced technology group established to develop agile, bold and disruptive solutions for defence and beyond. Enabling a secure future, it is dedicated to bringing innovative technologies and services to market with greater speed and efficiency. Consolidating over 25 entities and employing more than 13,000 brilliant minds, it offers expertise across five core clusters: Platforms & Systems, Missiles & Weapons, Cyber Defence, Electronic Warfare & Intelligence and Mission Support. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, EDGE is a catalyst for change – set to revolutionise the industry and change its fundamentals.
*Source: AETOSWire
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210221005030/en/
Contact information
Thushara Mohanan
media@edgegroup.ae
+971-555080413/ +971-55-3584520
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Altasciences and Evidence Matters Advance AI-Driven Drug Development With Nonclinical Automation Breakthrough7.7.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Altasciences, a fully integrated early-phase drug development organization, and Evidence Matters, a pioneer in clinical trial data science, are pleased to announce a successful proof-of-concept (POC) of RegulatoryFlow (“RegFlow”), following the announcement of the companies’ strategic collaboration in August 2025. The POC demonstrated the extension of AI-driven efficiencies from clinical reporting into nonclinical workflows, marking a significant step forward in accelerating drug development timelines. Building on proven results in clinical reporting, where the collaboration has achieved up to first-draft clinical study reports (CSRs), the teams have now successfully applied similar AI capabilities to nonclinical data through high-quality parsing of raw and SEND datasets in a proof-of-concept. This advancement aligns with the Altasciences Acceleration Platform, designed to fast-track drug development across the early-phase development continuum. “This milestone reflects the power of in
Gurobi Launches Intelligence Hub to Deliver AI-Guided Workflows Across the Optimization Lifecycle7.7.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Gurobi Optimization, LLC, the leader in decision intelligence technology, today announced the launch of the Gurobi Intelligence Hub, the new home for Gurobi’s AI-powered optimization agents. The Intelligence Hub is designed to help users build, understand, troubleshoot, and interact with optimization models more effectively. Together, the Hub’s specialized agents leverage generative AI to guide users through workflows across the optimization lifecycle, creating new opportunities to make optimization more accessible, intuitive, and valuable for a broader range of users. The Modeler combines guided workflows with Gurobi’s optimization expertise to help users move from business problem to production-quality optimization model. Through an iterative process that helps refine requirements, validate assumptions, and develop acceptance tests, the Modeler gives users confidence that their model accurately reflects the intended business problem.The Explainer helps users interpret model instances
SS&C Expands Tokenized Investment Capabilities with Digital Cash Settlement7.7.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSNC) today announced plans to enable digital cash settlement for tokenized investment transactions using regulated forms of digital cash, including stablecoins and tokenized commercial bank deposits. The announcement builds on the successful launch of SS&C's live tokenized fund issuance and distribution capabilities earlier this year following the acquisition of Calastone in 2025. SS&C already enables asset managers to bring tokenized versions of traditional investment funds to market through the infrastructure and connectivity they already use, helping bridge traditional and digital investment markets. As interest in tokenized investment products continues to grow, the market is increasingly looking beyond tokenization towards the infrastructure needed to support digital transactions. Having already enabled the issuance and distribution of tokenized funds, SS&C is now extending its innovation roadmap to support the next stage of the digital i
Quaise Energy Raises $134 Million in Initial Close of Series B to Build World’s First Superhot Geothermal Power Plant7.7.2026 15:01:00 EEST | Press release
Quaise Energy, a leading developer of utility-scale superhot geothermal energy, today announced the first close of its Series B financing, raising $134 million with additional equity and debt capital expected to close imminently. The round was led by Prelude Ventures, with strategic investments from JERA and Idemitsu, two of Japan's largest energy companies. Nearly all existing investors, including Safar Partners, participated in the round. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260707844187/en/ The proceeds from Series B will fund Project Obsidian, the world’s first commercial superhot geothermal power plant, and the continued development and commercialization of Quaise's millimeter wave drilling system towards depths in excess of 5 km. Project-level equity and debt financing is concurrently being raised as the company advances toward first revenues secured by yet-undisclosed commercial off-take partners. The Series
Biocytogen and Whitehawk Therapeutics Enter Global Collaboration for Bispecific Antibody ADC Development7.7.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Biocytogen (SSE: 688796; HKEX: 02315) and Whitehawk Therapeutics, Inc. (“Whitehawk,” Nasdaq: WHWK) today announced a global collaboration to develop bispecific antibody-drug conjugates (BsADC). Biocytogen will provide access to up to five bispecific antibodies using its proprietary RenLite® platform, and Whitehawk will evaluate these in combination with its ADC linker-payload platform technologies. Whitehawk then has the option to advance any resulting BsADC candidates as part of its pipeline. Based on a common light-chain design, RenLite® supports the discovery, screening, and optimization of fully human bispecific antibodies across diverse target combinations, while reducing the risk of light-chain mispairing and providing a robust molecular foundation for subsequent BsADC development. By bringing together the complementary capabilities of Biocytogen and Whitehawk, the collaboration aims to identify BsADC candidates with differentiated targeting profiles and therapeutic potential. “W
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom