The United Arab Emirates is emerging as a key frontier for America’s fast-rising defense tech players, underscored by a major agreement between Anduril Industries and Abu Dhabi’s Edge Group to co-produce autonomous drones. 

Announced on Nov. 13, the deal marks the California military tech startup’s first major foray into the Middle East and will see the Emirati defense conglomerate Edge invest roughly $200 million as part of a pact to establish a manufacturing base for Anduril in the Gulf.

The announcement lands just days after Palantir Technologies unveiled its first UAE joint venture with Dubai Holding: an AI platform dubbed Aither. Although not focused on defense, the deal is notable. Palantir — a data analysis company that equips militaries, including Israel’s, with AI tools — is part of the same cohort of Silicon Valley-aligned defense firms challenging America’s legacy weapons giants. With these new ventures, a new generation of US defense players is strengthening Gulf ties.

Details: Under the agreement, Anduril and Edge will form a joint venture to design, develop and manufacture autonomous systems for both civilian and military missions across the Middle East and nearby regions.