Any new UAE defence fund would align with the Emirates’ push to use sovereign wealth investment funds to deepen sovereign capabilities following the Iran war if reports materialise.
Initial reports from Bloomberg suggest that officials are considering a preliminary fund, creating a new defence investment vehicle to cement defence capabilities following the ongoing Iran war.
IRGC individuals resumed UAV and missile attacks on the UAE on the 4 May 2026 following a temporary ceasefire.
A defence fund would aim to centralise defence manufacturing whilst expanding domestic production. This would ultimately build on the role of the UAE’s EDGE Group: the core domestic defence manufacturer in the Emirates founded in 2019 with a $5B annual turnover.
The Group has expanded MoUs with leading defence manufacturers from France (2024) to Brazil (2025). The UAE leadership signed 10 Embraer C-390 this week with Brazilian aviation manufacturer: Embraer.
Investment in defence firms would mark a bold step in expanding cooperation beyond R&D and mutual cooperation, deepening the defence capabilities and potential for sustained technological transfer between defence sectors abroad and the UAE in the event of further attacks.
Faisal Al Bannai, the Chairman of the EGDE Group, said on Monday that 85% of IRGC drones that targeted the UAE during the initial stage of the conflict were neutralised using domestically built jammers.
Abu Dhabi currently owns three SWFs: ADIA, ADQ, and Mubadala. Together all three SWFs own $1.8T in AUM.
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