UAE weapons maker EDGE wants in on F-35 supply chain

UAE weapons maker EDGE wants in on F-35 supply chain

United Arab Emirates' state-owned weapons maker EDGE expects to be involved in the supply chain of Lockheed Martin's F-35 war plane if the sale of U.S. planes to the Gulf Arab state goes ahead, its chief executive said on Tuesday

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U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is re-examining the sale of 50 F-35 stealth jets, 18 armed drones and other military equipment approved by former President Donald Trump during his last days in office.

"Any platform that is coming to the country, we are now getting heavily involved in this supply chain in whatever component that makes sense for the client and for us," EDGE CEO Faisal al-Bannai said at Abu Dhabi's Idex defence exhibition.

EDGE, a $5 billion state defence conglomerate, could integrate subsystems, products and weapons, perform maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work and also develop weapons such as missiles for the jet, he said.

EDGE and Lockheed later announced in a statement they had reached a preliminary agreement to jointly "explore industrial participation opportunities across the UAE's aerospace and defence industry."

The statement did not mention the F-35 or any other system.

The Gulf state, one of Washington's closest Middle Eastern allies, was promised a chance to