EDGE Group To Supply MANSUP Series Anti-Ship Missiles To The Brazilian Navy
EDGE Group, a technology and defense company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), recently announced that it signed an important agreement with the Brazilian Navy at the Dubai Airshow. According to the company’s statement, the agreement is worth approximately AED 600 million (US$ 163 million) and covers the National Anti-Ship Missile (MANSUP) and the extended-range MANSUP-ER version of the system. This Letter of Intent (LOI) was signed by EDGE Group General Manager and CEO Mansour AlMulla and Brazilian Navy Weapon Systems Director Rear Admiral Marcelo Menezes Cardoso.
Mansour AlMulla, Managing Director & CEO of EDGE Group, stated about the agreement, “EDGE is continuously pushing the boundaries to become a major market player in high-tech defence systems. Our expanding partnerships in Brazil, particularly with the Brazilian Navy, are enabling us to leverage our experience and expertise to develop advanced defence capabilities and other related technologies across multiple domains. We are confident that the MANSUP-ER system will disrupt the domination held for years by existing incumbent solutions.”
Rear Admiral Marcelo Menezes Cardoso, Director of Navy Weapons Systems of the Brazilian Navy, added by saying, “Today marks a significant milestone in strengthening the partnership between the Brazilian Navy, SIATT, and EDGE, as we sign this letter of intent for the supply of our advanced MANSUP-ER anti-ship missiles. This collaboration is a testament to our joint commitment to innovation in the co-development of state-of-the-art defence technology to enhance our naval capabilities and safeguard our maritime interests.”
The Míssil Antinavio Nacional de Superfície, or MANSUP, project began as a domestically developed anti-ship missile developed in collaboration with local contractors such as SIATT, AVIBRAS, OMNISYS, and EZUTE Foundation under the leadership of the Brazilian Navy Weapons Systems Directorate. Later, EDGE Group joined the program by signing a memorandum of understanding with the Brazilian Navy for further development of the MANSUP missile. The UAE-based corporation then obtained fifty percent of the shares in the Brazilian SIATT company, which was in charge of developing the MANSUP missile’s guidance, navigation, control, and telemetry systems.
The original MANSUP, which was developed to replace the Brazilian Navy’s Exocet MM40 Block 1, is 5.6 meters long and weighs approximately one ton. MANSUP has a range of 70 kilometers and can reach speeds of 870 kilometers per hour thanks to a solid-fuel rocket engine. The new MANSUP-ER long-range surface-to-surface missile has a range of 200 kilometers and was developed in partnership with the Brazilian Navy and EDGE. The new missile has sea-skimming capabilities as well as inertial guidance and active radar homing.
EDGE Group has also signed a letter of intent with the UAE Ministry of Defense for MANSUP and MANSUP-ER advanced anti-ship missiles, in addition to the Brazilian Navy. Furthermore, EDGE Group subsidiary Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding (ADSB) announced that the MANSUP surface-to-surface missile will be integrated into the Fast Attack Vessel that will be launched at NAVDEX 2025. MANSUP systems, which have already proven their global competitiveness less than a week after they were unveiled, are likely to be supplied to other countries in the near future. EDGE Group is already in advanced talks with several potential customers for this.