Turkish Minister of National Defense Yasar Guler makes a speech during the opening ceremony of SAHA EXPO, Turkiye’s leading international defence & aerospace exhibition in Istanbul, Turkiye on October 22, 2024. (Photo by Serhat Cagdas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
BEIRUT — Defense companies from the United Arab Emirates made high-profile appearances at the Turkish Saha Expo last week, inking a number of memoranda of understanding and contracts in the latest tightening of security relations between Abu Dhabi and Ankara.
“The agreements signed by Emirati companies at Saha Istanbul are part of an ongoing trend of strengthening defense industrial ties between Türkiye and the UAE, a development that has gained momentum since early 2023,” Albert Vidal, a research analyst for the London-based thinktank IISS, told Breaking Defense.
The expo is put on by Saha Istanbul, an association of hundreds of companies and more than two dozen universities — meaning it’s a key opportunity for foreign firms to make connections in the Turkish defense world.
As such, the UAE’s largest defense conglomerate, EDGE Group, said earlier this month that it established a new office, dubbed MALATH, specifically to “act as a catalyst for new business engagement between EDGE and SAHA companies, marking a new chapter in UAE-Türkiye cooperation in the advanced technology and defence sectors, and creating greater growth opportunities across the wider region and beyond.”
At the show MALATH signed an MoU with Turkish ERA RF Technologies in which the two firms are expected to cooperate on advanced satellite communication terminals and ground modems.
LAHAB, another EDGE Group entity, signed three agreements with Turkey’s ASSAN Group to supply the latter with LAHAB’s MK munitions, with focus on African continent.
The Emirati firm will also “expand its product portfolio through incorporating Warsaw-configured MK munitions, with the support of ASSAN, to meet the operational requirements of its existing customers,” EDGE Group announced last week.
The third agreement states that ASSAN will be a “key supplier” to LAHAB, to deliver “NATO-standard MK munitions components,” reinforcing LAHAB’s supply chain.
“These agreements with ASSAN Group represent a pivotal move in strengthening our international partnerships and expanding our global footprint, which is a key component of EDGE’s export strategy,” said EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar.
From his point of view, Emin Öner, chairman of ASSAN Group, said that his company “aims to focus on enhancing serial production capacity. Regarding this, we are one of the biggest and one of the most successful in Türkiye. Today, we are taking a very important step toward getting into the global defense market.”
In the cybersecurity field, EDGE’s ORYXLABS joined forces with Pavo Group in a strategic partnership “to develop and execute a joint go-to-market strategy across Türkiye, the Middle East and Africa,” according to a company statement.
Elsewhere, building on the earlier agreement with Baykar, EDGE Group signed an agreement to “strengthen ties,” “enhance capabilities, and expand market presence for both companies.”
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Outside of EDGE Group, at the show Emirati aircraft producer Calidus signed an agreement with two Turkish firms, Aselsan and Havelsan, in which Aselsan is expected to provide advanced cockpit display solutions for Calidus’ aircraft, and both firms will collaborate “on joint production, technological innovation, and upgrading rotary and fixed-wing aircraft”
“This partnership will focus on comprehensive cockpit modernization projects, ensuring the delivery of innovative solutions to meet both current and future operational requirements,” according to Calidus’s statement.
Havelsan will equip UAE’s Calidus with ground-based training solutions.
The UAE air force contracted 40 B-250 trainer aircraft from Abu Dhabi-based Calidus, the first deal ever for the trainer aircraft, the company’s CEO Khalifa Alblooshi, told Breaking Defense in November.
