BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 1. EDGE Group sees Azerbaijan as a potential regional defense cooperation hub, Miles Chambers, Senior Vice President, International Business, EDGE Group said in an exclusive interview with Trend on September 30 on the sidelines of the ADEX exhibition in Baku.
Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, EDGE consolidates more than 35 entities into six core clusters: Platforms & Systems, Missiles & Weapons, Space & Cyber Technologies, EDGE Commercial, Technology & Industrialization, and Homeland Security.
EDGE converges R&D, emerging technologies, digital transformation, and commercial market innovations with military capabilities to develop disruptive solutions tailored to the specific requirements of its customers.
“It is a great pleasure to be here at ADEX representing EDGE Group. This is our second time exhibiting at the ADEX exhibition, so I think that's a clear indication of our commitment to the domestic market here in Azerbaijan, but also to many of the countries within the region. It provides a great opportunity and platform for us to showcase a broad range of EDGE capabilities, including our precision-guided munitions, electronic warfare, loitering munitions and UAV platforms, together with various other capabilities from the EDGE portfolio,” said Chambers.
He pointed out that the company has various ongoing programs here in Azerbaijan with the Ministry of Defense, as well as with the Ministry of Defense Industry.
“We look forward to seeing how those programs develop into new areas of collaboration. We're making great progress with regards to the letter of intent that was signed two years ago. We look forward to announcements of new programs in the future. Here in Azerbaijan, we've seen the domestic industry grow significantly. I think that starts to play an important role, not just particularly for the domestic market, but of course regionally. There's a very strong industrial base here in Azerbaijan, and through collaborations between EDGE and the government in Azerbaijan we would like to see how we can serve not only the domestic market, how that can support many of the existing markets of EDGE, but how that can support many of the requirements across the region,” Chambers added.
Talking about the global situation, the EDGE Group senior vice president noted that the requirements for capabilities in counter-drone warfare, are becoming increasingly important, as well as deep strike capability with platforms such as Shadow 25 and Shadow 50.
“Now, we've seen increased demand for that. We've seen that same demand grow for us in our home markets in the United Arab Emirates, but also with many of our international customers. Very similarly, we see the same demand requirements from many customers, and that's an area that we certainly look to be collaborating both here in Azerbaijan, but across the region,” he concluded.
ADEX exhibition, which will run through October 2, is one of the largest military-technology events in the Caucasus region. It showcases modern military technologies and equipment, as well as the capabilities of Azerbaijan’s defense-industrial complex.
During the same period, the Baku Expo Center is also hosting the 15th International Exhibition of Equipment for Internal Security, Protection, and Rescue Operations, Securex Caspian.
A total of 53 countries are represented at this year’s ADEX and Securex Caspian exhibitions. A total of 280 companies and organizations from 30 countries are participating in the exhibitions.
