EDGE’s LAHAB Achieves First Successful Test Firing of UAE-Designed 155mm Artillery Ammunition

The ammunition manufacturer has completed dynamic testing of its Extended Range Full Bore projectile, confirming chamber pressures, trajectory accuracy and component integrity ahead of qualification trials

The moment a nation can manufacture its own ammunition represents a threshold in sovereignty. LAHAB, the medium to large-calibre ammunition specialist within EDGE, has crossed that threshold with the successful completion of its first dynamic test firing of 155mm Extended Range Full Bore artillery ammunition, designed and produced entirely in-house.

All rounds fired from a 52-calibre barrel performed precisely as the engineers predicted. They held their planned trajectories, impacted within the designated target area with consistent grouping and tight dispersion. The trial achieved each of its principal objectives: confirming compatibility with weapons built to Joint Ballistics Memorandum of Understanding standards, reconciling theoretical and measured chamber pressures, aligning predicted points of impact with actual ones, and proving the structural integrity of the projectile’s components.

Saif Al Dahbashi, President of Missiles and Weapons at EDGE, noted that the firing marks the transition from theoretical design to demonstrated real-world performance. The significance extends beyond engineering: as he observed, artillery ammunition has become the clearest measure of a nation’s capacity for self-sufficiency in defence manufacturing. The development of this capability in the UAE ensures that the nation and its customers have assured and responsive access to large-calibre ammunition without depending on external production queues.

The programme, known as HAZEEM, reflects a broader EDGE strategy centred on sovereign capability. Systems are designed, manufactured and sustained within the UAE, creating technological resilience and operational independence. This approach aligns with the nation’s wider investment in advanced manufacturing and defence innovation. As we reported in October, EDGE has also completed the acquisition of CMD S.r.l. in Italy, establishing a European propulsion hub that demonstrates the organisation’s commitment to building technical excellence across multiple domains of advanced engineering.

The next stages of development will move into arena testing to quantify projectile effectiveness, followed by qualification to Military Standard requirements and NATO Standardisation Agreement 4224. These milestones will lead toward demonstrating Safety and Suitability for Service, the formal gateway to operational deployment.

What it means for Abu Dhabi

This achievement represents a significant step in the UAE’s advancement of indigenous defence technology and industrial capability. The successful test firing of a UAE-designed ammunition system signals the nation’s growing technical proficiency in complex manufacturing and ballistics engineering, areas that require substantial investment in research, testing infrastructure and skilled personnel.

For Abu Dhabi specifically, this development strengthens the capital’s position as a centre of advanced manufacturing and innovation. EDGE, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, continues to build sovereign industrial capacity that benefits the nation’s defence posture while creating high-value employment and technological expertise that can be sustained and built upon for decades to come.

Source: WAM