UAE defence group EDGE has delivered six ANAVIA HT-100 NAVAL unmanned helicopters to the Angolan Navy, completing the autonomous-aircraft component of a €1bn programme centred on three BR71 MKII multi-mission corvettes.
The aircraft were handed over after factory acceptance trials at ANAVIA’s facility in Bilten, Switzerland. Each corvette is scheduled to carry two HT-100s, which will be integrated with the vessels’ combat-management systems before undergoing sea trials in Angola.
Fitted with electro-optical and infrared sensors, the unmanned helicopters are intended to extend maritime surveillance and reconnaissance beyond the ships’ immediate sensor horizon. EDGE says the HT-100 can remain airborne for up to six hours and operate through data links reaching as far as 200km, depending on configuration.
The delivery advances a naval agreement signed with Angola in 2023 for three 71-metre BR71 MKII corvettes, a design derived from the lineage of the UAE Navy’s Baynunah class.
The programme also illustrates EDGE’s multinational industrial model. Abu Dhabi Ship Building is constructing one vessel, while France’s CMN Naval is building the other two. Swiss UAV developer ANAVIA, meanwhile, has been majority-owned by EDGE since 2023.
Angola is becoming a test case for EDGE’s shift from stand-alone defence exports towards integrated capability packages combining platforms, autonomous systems, combat-system integration, training and long-term support.
By controlling the prime contract while incorporating technologies developed across its international subsidiaries and partners, EDGE is broadening the scale and complexity of programmes for which it can compete in Africa and other emerging defence markets.
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