Edge Secures More UAE Orders For Uncrewed Logistics Helicopters

Emirati defense conglomerate Edge Group has received additional orders for the HT-750 optionally crewed turbine-powered light helicopter from the UAE.

 

UAE defense materiel agency the Tawazun Council for Defense Enablement announced that the UAE Armed Forces are acquiring 92 HT-750 platforms for 1.4 billion dirham ($380 million).

 

The order was announced on the second day of the Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX) being held in Abu Dhabi Jan. 20-22.

 

Edge’s Switzerland-based affiliate Anavia is developing the 1,150-kg (2,535.3-lb.) HT-750 primarily as a heavy-lift rotary-wing uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) that will able to carry payloads of up to 750 kg.

 

But the company has previously displayed the helicopter with different modules that can be fitted to the front of the aircraft. This allows it to carry cargo; perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions; and potentially be used as a crew-piloted aircraft, perhaps for training. The aircraft features a conventional four-bladed single main rotor and a two-blade conventional tail rotor.

 

“Our contracts with the UAE’s [Ministry of Defense] highlights our ongoing dedication to enabling advanced unmanned intelligence and logistics operations through the latest technology in autonomous systems,” said Jon Andri Jörg, the CEO of Anavia.

 

But the status of the HT-750’s development is unclear. Earlier in the week, Edge’s Anavia received orders for 76 examples of the HT-100 uncrewed helicopter worth $180 million.

 

That model uses a Flettner intermeshing rotor system to provide additional lift and can also be employed for logistics and ISR tasks.

 

In both orders, the number of aircraft was undisclosed. In 2024, Edge announced during the UMEX show that the UAE would order 200 HT-100s and HT-750s. It is unclear whether the two orders are linked.

 

The UAE military also placed a $6 million order with Edge to develop a gyrocopter into an uncrewed logistics aircraft. This is likely related to Edge’s GY300 platform, which was displayed by the company at the UMEX show two years ago.