UAE's Edge Group acquires majority stake in Estonia-based Milrem Robotics

Defense group Edge Group has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Estonia-based Milrem Robotics Photo: Ain Liiva

The United Arab Emirates-based advanced technology and defense group Edge Group has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Estonia-based Milrem Robotics, a leading developer of robotics and autonomous systems.

The transaction is the largest foreign investment in Estonia's defense industry, and will see Milrem Robotics join Edge as a new entity within its Platforms & Systems cluster, complementing the group's existing multi-domain capabilities, Edge Group said in a press release.

Established in 2013, Milrem Robotics' mission is to provide innovative robotic solutions for challenging environments. It specializes in the development of intelligent unmanned ground vehicles, robotic warfare solutions, Concept of Operations (CONOPS) and doctrine level warfare analysis. Its main products are the THeMIS and Multiscope unmanned ground vehicles, the Type-X unmanned combat vehicle, and the MIFIK land vehicle autonomy package. The first two are intended to support dismounted soldiers and for commercial purposes such as forestry and firefighting, respectively. The Type-X is a wingman for mechanized defense units.

Milrem Robotics' products have been sold to 16 countries, eight of which are NATO members: the United States, Estonia, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Milrem Robotics will continue to be based in the Estonian capital Tallinn, and also operates offices in Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the USA, employing approximately 200 personnel.

Kuldar Vaarsi, founder and CEO of Milrem Robotics, said: "Milrem Robotics carried out an intensive investment round aimed at finding ways to support further expansion, and EDGE Group, which comprises 20 different state-of-the-art technology and defense entities across multiple domains, offered the best opportunity for us to realize our ambitions of further international growth."

Mansour AlMulla, CEO of Edge Group described the transaction as entailing great potential for both companies, as the investment will allow Milrem to take advantage of Edge's considerable resources to offer our customers operating in perpetually changing operating environments a more robust portfolio of superior autonomous systems at competitive costs. A presence in Estonia also provides Edge with strategic access to Northern Europe, increasing valuable opportunities for the group across the continent and further afield, and strengthens their position as a serious global player in this sector.

Riho Terras, chairman of the supervisory board of Milrem Robotics, said the addition of Edge, a leading global defense industry group with a very wide reach and impressive resources, as a new majority owner will allow Milrem to increase production, hire new people, acquire new know-how and also significantly expand its product portfolio, thereby becoming a stronger company internationally.

Following the transaction, the owners of Milrem Robotics are Edge, Kuldar Vaarsi through the company Sinrob, the German defense industry company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Estonian private investors and employees of Milrem Robotics.