UAE’s EDGE group has made a strategic investment in Israel-based High Lander, the company behind Universal UTM, a drone-agnostic unmanned traffic management solution that provides the automation, coordination, and safety needed in increasingly crowded skies.
The $14 million investment creates a ground-breaking partnership and is already forging ongoing deals and high-value opportunities in both the military and civilian domains between some of the world’s biggest technology providers, as both companies progress along their respective roadmaps.
As part of its international growth strategy, EDGE, which comprises an impressive portfolio of 20 complementary companies, is placing a clear focus on the development of autonomous systems, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), smart weapons, and cyber technologies. The group is keen to further assist High Lander in developing its next-generation Universal UTM solution, which enables the safe coexistence of manned and unmanned aviation. EDGE aims to utilize Universal UTM in the management of autonomous operations.
Faisal Al Bannai Chairman of Board EDGE
“As EDGE grows rapidly, and with our focus increasingly being directed to the development of world-leading autonomous aerospace solutions, the need for a superior and readily available air traffic management platform could not be more urgent. Our investment in High Lander as a major shareholder is logical for EDGE, and mutually beneficial and opportune for both companies, allowing us to grow and perfect these solutions further together, in both the military and civilian domains.”
Mr. Alon Abelson, co-founder and CEO of High Lander, commented that “We are excited about the strategic partnership with EDGE because it strengthens High Lander’s position as a market leader in drone fleet management and UTM spaces as we begin to scale globally. High Lander and EDGE have a mutual goal of creating the most technologically advanced airspace automation systems possible, and we look forward to working with EDGE for many years to come.”
High Lander’s Universal UTM oversees the busiest airspaces, enabling multiple, simultaneous drone operations. From pre-flight authorization to mid-mission changes and post-flight logs, Universal UTM enables efficient management of all aspects of airspace control.
Mr. Mansour AlMulla, the Managing Director and CEO of EDGE, stated that “This is a win-win partnership. High Lander will benefit from EDGE’s offerings of integrated systems and solutions, and we in turn will adapt High Lander’s world-leading UTM platform to further advance our autonomous capabilities.”
