Calidus LLC

Calidus is an Abu Dhabi defence manufacturer founded in 2015 that has built itself around three divisions, aerospace, land vehicles and a missile and defence systems arm. It is one of the more visible products of the United Arab Emirates policy of growing domestic prime contractors instead of buying finished equipment abroad, and it sits outside the state-owned EDGE structure as a privately held company. Aerospace came first. The B-250 is a tandem-seat turboprop light attack aircraft with a carbon fibre airframe, flown for the first time in July 2017 and pitched at close air support, counter-insurgency, special operations support and armed reconnaissance work in places where a fast jet is expensive overkill. The programme was assembled from an international supply chain that includes Collins Aerospace, Martin-Baker, Pratt and Whitney Canada and Halcon of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE Air Force became the launch customer for the derived B-250T trainer. The airframe was developed with Novaer of Brazil and the first prototype was completed inside 25 months, with further prototypes built at the Abu Dhabi site for development and certification while a dedicated production plant was planned for Al Ain. The Emirati armed forces ordered 24 aircraft in November 2019, the first time the country had bought an aircraft built at home, and the trainer version has since been shown carrying Desert Sting and Thunder guided weapons from Al Tariq of EDGE. Land vehicles arrived later and moved faster. The Wahash is an 8x8 wheeled infantry fighting vehicle developed with ADG Mobility of South Africa, weighing about 32.5 tonnes with a BMP-3 pattern turret while still carrying eight dismounts alongside three crew, and it won a production contract from the Emirati armed forces at IDEX 2025. A lighter version of the same platform followed as the Wahash light infantry fighting vehicle, and the family has since been joined by the MATV, a 14 tonne 4x4 multirole all-terrain vehicle with double wishbone independent suspension, a top road speed of 120 kilometres per hour and variants carrying between five and ten personnel. The missile division produces Alheda, a 140mm diameter guided weapon of about 37 kilograms and 1.8 metres length with a range near 10 kilometres, offered with semi-active laser or imaging infrared seekers, inertial mid-course navigation, and interchangeable high explosive or anti-armour warheads. Alheda missiles are fitted in twin launchers on vehicle turrets and has been shown on the MATV as well as on the Wahash, and the UAE signed a development contract for the system at IDEX 2025 that was reported as the largest deal announced that day. Artillery is the newest line, with the BARQ high mobility multiple rocket launcher on a 4x4 truck chassis firing several rocket calibres and able to carry loitering munitions. The company remains small by prime contractor standards, with roughly two hundred staff, and it depends heavily on the Emirati armed forces as customer, partner and development sponsor, which is the same pattern seen across the newer Gulf defence manufacturers.