DUBAI, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Emirati defence giant EDGE is

courting U.S. weapons makers with plans to co-produce arms for

American buyers, its chief executive told Reuters, as the

state-owned group seeks to deepen ties with Washington and start

some manufacturing in the United States.

EDGE last week announced a tie-up with U.S. drone maker

Anduril to build a new unmanned aircraft in the UAE - a "step of

many" towards strengthening ties with the U.S., including

shifting some manufacturing to the U.S., Managing Director and

CEO Hamad Al Marar said in an interview this week on the

sidelines of the Dubai Airshow.

EDGE hopes to broaden development and production

partnerships with U.S. giants like Raytheon, Northrop Grumman ( NOC )

, and Lockheed Martin ( LMT ), Al Marar said without

elaborating.

The UAE is a strong military ally of Washington, and earlier

this year pledged $1.4 trillion of investment in the United

States, including defence.

Defence partnerships are a focus for the current U.S.

administration and deeper ties open new business opportunities,

Al Marar said.

An equity investment in Anduril, valued at $30 billion in

April, is under consideration, he added.

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Founded in 2019, EDGE is owned by the government of Abu

Dhabi. It produces weapons, drones, armoured vehicles, radios,

radar systems and other military equipment, as well as

technology for ships and cybersecurity.

It has an order backlog of around $21 billion, with regions

such as Africa and Latin America driving growth, while targeting

expansion in Europe and Southeast Asia, Al Marar said.

During the air show, it signed deals with companies from

countries including Italy, the U.S., and sealed a $7 billion

cooperation agreement with Indonesia's Republikorp to localise

manufacturing there.