U.S., UAE arms companies to make AI-driven drones

U.S., UAE arms companies to make AI-driven drones

A U.S. high-tech arms company is to design and produce AI-powered drones in the United Arab Emirates under a joint venture, the two parties said on Thursday, strengthening close defence ties.

U.S.’s Anduril and the UAE’s state-owned defence conglomerate, EDGE Group, will jointly develop the Omen drone at a new, 50,000 sq. ft research centre in Abu Dhabi, a statement said.

The UAE will acquire the first 50 units, officials said. A publicity photo showed the Omen carrying the UAE air force’s insignia.

The lightweight, long-distance, autonomous drone takes off and lands like a helicopter and flies like a plane, allowing it to be deployed from within war zones and disaster areas.

“This is... about disrupting current maritime patrol, special mission aircraft, much bigger systems. That’s what we’re going after,” Anduril senior vice-president Shane Arnott said in a media call.

Omen is intended to be the “first of many” products from the joint venture, which builds on decades of US-UAE defence ties, the statement said.

During President Donald Trump’s visit to Abu Dhabi in May, the U.S. and UAE announced plans for a new defence partnership that would include “joint capability development”.

The UAE, nicknamed “Little Sparta” by former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, has deployed its military to conflicts in Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen.

The oil-rich desert monarchy, which hosts the U.S. air force at its Al Dhafra base, established EDGE in 2019 as part of efforts to develop a domestic defence industry. EDGE is investing nearly $200 million in Omen, while Anduril has already ploughed $850 million into related technology and development.

The drone, capable of carrying payloads including torpedoes, is expected to reach production by the end of 2028.

As part of the deal, EDGE gains access to Anduril’s Lattice AI system, which allows multiple autonomous aircraft to coordinate and adapt in real time as a “3D command and control centre”, the statement said.

Anduril’s founder Palmer Luckey, inventor of the Oculus virtual reality headsets, is a campaign donor to Mr. Trump.

Luckey is close to fellow billionaire Peter Thiel, co-founder of software firm Palantir which announced an AI joint venture with the UAE’s Dubai Holding last week.

Anduril’s U.S. government contracts include posting hundreds of autonomous surveillance towers along the U.S.-Mexico frontier, creating a virtual border wall.