Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
Showcasing products that are directly linked to military medicine, casualty evacuation and emergency preparedness, EDGE Group and the Emergencies, Crises and Disasters Management Centre Abu Dhabi (ADCMC) are using the 46th ICMM World Congress of Military Medicine Abu Dhabi 2026 as a platform to highlight advances in disaster response, humanitarian health and emerging medical technologies.
Organised by the UAE Ministry of Defence in collaboration with ADNEC Group, the congress commenced on November 9 and runs until November 13, under the theme “Ready When Needed. Resilient When Tested”.
EDGE Group, the strategic partner of the first International Congress of Military Medicine (ICMM) held in the UAE, is showcasing military medical technologies, including armoured vehicles and unmanned systems designed to support medical evacuation, surveillance and protection during military operations.
Ahmed Al Khoori, SVP – Strategy & Excellence, EDGE Group, highlighted the company's expanding defence portfolio, international reach and focus on emerging technologies.
“Our participation in ICMM 2026 reflects our long-term commitment to serving the end user, the Ministry of Defence and our stakeholders, particularly in meeting their military and military medicine requirements,” Al Khoori told Aletihad.
Among the technologies on display is the HAFEET MK2, a 6x6 armoured vehicle that can be customised as an ambulance. The vehicle has a gross vehicle weight of 17,500kg, a cruising range of 700km at 80km/h and 420mm of ground clearance.
The exhibition also features the THeMIS CARGO CASEVAC unmanned ground vehicle, designed for cargo transport and casualty evacuation. It has a rated payload capacity of 750kg, a maximum payload capacity of 1,200kg and a top speed of 20km/h. Its hybrid system can operate for up to 15 hours on a full internal tank.
Other technologies include the ANAVIA HT-100 unmanned helicopter, which supports military, border control, special forces, civil defence and law enforcement missions, with a maximum flight endurance of six hours, a range of 600km and a payload capacity of 60kg.
Beyond the exhibition, Al Khoori outlined the development of the UAE's defence technology development sector since the early 1990s, noting that EDGE Group was established in 2019 to consolidate more than 25 defence companies under one group.
“Today, EDGE Group has more than 50 companies under its umbrella, serving multiple domains, particularly platforms, missiles, electronic warfare (EW) and cybersecurity,” he said.
The Group has since expanded its portfolio to more than 250 products, either under development or ready for sale, alongside more than 100 subsystem products serving the Ministry of Defence, law enforcement agencies and international customers.
Highlighting EDGE Group's international presence, Al Khoori said: “In 2026 alone, 70% of our products were sold to export markets, demonstrating our success globally.”
Drones Support First Responders
Meanwhile, ADCMC is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen healthcare preparedness, accelerate hospital and clinic audits, and enhance emergency response capabilities across the emirate.
Shaikha Khamis Al Azeezi, Director of the Business Continuity and Alternative Services Department at ADCMC, highlighted several AI-enabled initiatives designed to strengthen preparedness and crisis management.
Among them is the Abu Dhabi Business Continuity Standard for the Health Sector, developed with the Department of Health (DoH) to strengthen emergency preparedness across hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities.
The initiative is supported by an AI-powered External Audit Platform that assesses compliance with the standard and accelerates audits.
“We are participating to support the health sector, specifically through the Business Continuity Standard of Abu Dhabi for the health sector that supports increasing the maturity level of all the assets under the health sector,” she explained.
The initiative covers hospitals and clinics across Abu Dhabi, using AI to streamline assessments and strengthen healthcare facilities' preparedness. “We are using the AI tool in order to facilitate and accelerate the audit.”
Beyond healthcare, Al Azeezi highlighted AIN Research & Future Foresight, describing it as “a fully agentic AI tool that supports all the processes in ADCMC”.
The platform uses AI agents to support business continuity, risk assessment, operations and emergency exercises, strengthening the centre's crisis management capabilities.
Meanwhile, ADCMC's AI-powered drone initiative aims to support first responders during emergencies and disasters by monitoring incidents, identifying evacuation routes and assisting search-and-rescue operations.
Al Azeezi also outlined the role of Jaheziya, an AI-powered platform that simulates emergency scenarios to assess organisational preparedness and resource availability across Abu Dhabi.
“We are having Jahazia platform that are being used to simulate different incidents,” she said. She explained that the platform aims to ensure the maturity and availability of resources across Abu Dhabi “to deal with any type of incident at any time”.
