SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
SIRBAI, a newly established defence technology company based in Abu Dhabi, has launched the Middle East's first AI-powered autonomous drone swarm platform at UMEX 2026.
The platform, designed for unmanned aerial systems, enables multiple drones to operate collaboratively and autonomously across contested, complex environments. It supports missions such as surveillance, protection, and manned-unmanned teaming, while maintaining reliable navigation and operator oversight in GPS-denied zones.
Built by a team of over 40 engineers in Abu Dhabi, the technology draws on advanced research, including AI capabilities developed at the Technology Innovation Institute (TII). SIRBAI's architecture follows a software-first model with a fully in-house technology stack, enabling secure, rapid development and adaptable deployment across defence environments.
The platform uses AI-driven mission planning, real-time coordination, and distributed decision-making to reduce operator workload and compress mission timelines. It is compatible with a wide range of drone platforms, from tactical drones to unmanned combat aerial vehicles, and is built for highly autonomous, coordinated swarm operations.
In an interview with Aletihad during the event, Dr Dario Albani, Chief Technology Officer at SIRBAI, described the company's mission to bring operational swarm intelligence out of research and into practical use.
"SIRBAI is a new company that just launched in the United Arab Emirates. We are based here in Abu Dhabi. We are a defence company that is trying to bridge the gap between swarm intelligence in the research labs and swarm intelligence in the operational field," he said.
He added that the company's name reflects its identity: "SIRBAI is kind of a similar translation, like it means swarm in Arabic. And of course, AI is our core business here."
Dr Albani outlined SIRBAI's core strategy: a software-first product that embeds swarm intelligence directly into client platforms through a full-stack AI ecosystem.
"The company is offering a software-first product, where we aim at deploying our swarm intelligence software into the platforms of the different clients that need it. We offer a full ecosystem that is composed of three different layers," he said.
These layers include a low-cognitive-load command and control interface, an AI middle layer known as the Cognitive Core, and interoperable hardware built to avionics standards, Dr Albani explained, adding that SIRBAI aims to address the limitations of existing defence AI platforms.
"Legacy systems have been built with a different idea of an operational scenario in mind," he said.
"The pace is increasing, and more decisions are taken in a split second. This is exactly what we want to do. Having a Swarm at your disposal will actually allow you to do much more at a faster speed."
SIRBAI also maintains close ties to the Technology Innovation Institute, with many of its team members previously working at TII and the company's foundational AI models built on TII research.
Dr Albani noted that UMEX 2026 was selected as the company's official launch platform due to the scale and relevance of the event for showcasing autonomous systems.
"UMEX 2026 is probably the biggest event of their kind, and it is an event that will grant us a lot of outreach," he said. "It focuses on our core idea of autonomy, and being of this size really will give us a lot of visibility."