“EDGE Group Teams Up with Indonesia’s Dahana Through Historic MOU at Indo Defence 2022”

EDGE Group’s LAHAB, renowned for producing an extensive array of ammunition and offering advanced technologies in ammunition innovation, services, and training, today formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indonesia’s state-owned PT Dahana (Dahana), which specializes in high-energy materials and delivers integrated explosives services across the General Mining, Quarry and Construction, Oil and Gas, and Defence industries. The pact was executed on the third day of the Indo Defence Expo & Forum 2022, currently taking place at JIExpo Kemayoran in Jakarta, Indonesia until 5 November.

The MoU, signed by LAHAB CEO Arafat Al Yafei and the Director of Technology and Development of Dahana, Suhendra Yusuf RPN, sets the stage for collaboration in the realm of manufacturing and the production of various types of explosives, maximizing the existing capabilities of both organizations, and allowing them to investigate joint investment in establishing a TNT facility at the Dahana Energetic Material Center (EMC) in Subang.

Commenting on the event, Mr. Al Yafei expressed: “LAHAB’s partnership with Dahana exemplifies two highly specialized firms uniting to uncover mutual synergies and opportunities that will enable us to enhance our individual and national capabilities through collaboration. By harnessing these distinctive strengths, we are poised to play a strategic role in fortifying the economic and security bonds between our nations, while advancing technological frontiers, and ultimately the superior services and solutions we deliver to our clients in both the defence and commercial markets, all while minimizing potential disruptions.”

This agreement stems from the support and leadership guidance from both nations, EDGE, and DEFEND ID, the parent organization overseeing Dahana. EDGE and DEFEND ID executed a Confidentiality Agreement in August 2021, followed by a Master Agreement in January 2022, aimed at fostering cooperation and assessing potential strategic partnerships in joint ventures, investments, and other collaborative opportunities.

Mr. Yusuf remarked: “As part of DEFEND ID, which aims to achieve the autonomy of national defence and security equipment tools, Alpalhankam, and to position itself within the global defence industry supply chain, DAHANA aspires to forge strategic alliances with LAHAB and the broader EDGE Group. We anticipate that this MoU can be progressed and realized, enhancing each company’s capabilities and capacities.”

LAHAB and Dahana will construct a collaborative technical team charged with defining a comprehensive roadmap and execution phase for co-investment and the enhancement of current facilities in Indonesia. Additionally, both firms are examining collaboration in the production of propellant and RDX, energetic substances crucial for the development of sovereign defence capabilities. Presently, Indonesia meets its domestic needs for these materials through imports, which are susceptible to foreign embargoes.

Beyond serving as raw materials for explosives production in the defence sector, TNT, Propellant, and RDX are also applicable as base materials for producing explosives in the commercial sector, including mining.