Emirati EDGE Group brings Shadow 3 VTOL drone to Azerbaijan to intercept UAVs at over 400 km/h.

The Emirati EDGE group entity Adasi showcased the Shadow 3 vertical take-off and landing drone at the ADEX 2026 exhibition in Baku. The modular platform is designed to execute dual-mission roles encompassing unmanned aerial vehicle interception, electronic warfare, and precision ground strikes. Integration of external radar cueing and computer vision enables the system to counter fast-moving aerial threats across contested engagement zones.

The Shadow 3 features a 3 kg payload capacity and a range exceeding 30 km, powered by interchangeable electric or turbine propulsion options that yield speeds ranging from 200 km/h to over 400 km/h. Its guidance architecture combines GNSS with anti-jamming protection, an optical seeker, and autonomous target recognition to ensure terminal precision against dynamic targets.

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The Shadow 3 is a vertically launched 30+ km dual-role drone available in 200+ km/h electric and 400+ km/h turbine-jet versions, both designed to intercept UAVs or strike ground targets with a 3 kg payload. (Picture source: Army Recognition)

On September 30, 2026, the Emirati EDGE group displayed Adasi's Shadow 3 at ADEX 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan, a vertically launched drone capable of UAV interception, electronic warfare, and ground attack. The Shadow 3 carries a 3 kg payload beyond 30 km for up to 20 minutes, with a maximum speed exceeding 200 km/h under electric propulsion and 400 km/h with a turbine jet. Depending on configuration, it measures 1 to 2.5 m long and 0.5 to 2 m across, while its guidance combines GNSS, an optical seeker, GPS anti-jamming, computer-vision navigation, target recognition, and autonomous target acquisition and engagement. Adasi is displaying it at ADEX alongside the Shadow 25 and Shadow 50, following the Shadow 3's first public appearance at IDEX 2025 in Abu Dhabi.

At ADEX, the Shadow 3 occupies the kinetic end of EDGE's counter-UAS chain: radar detects and classifies the target, electronic attack attempts to disrupt its control or navigation, then an interceptor or missile engages aerial threats that continue toward the defended area. External radar cueing is particularly important because a UAV at 200 km/h moves 3.33 km per minute and one at 300 km/h moves 5 km, rapidly invalidating an old position. The Shadow 3 can therefore be directed toward a predicted interception area before its optical seeker and computer vision take over against the moving target. This reduces the requirement for the drone itself to search the entire 30+ km engagement area and allows a relatively compact optical seeker to work as the terminal sensor.

The Shadow 3's warhead is substantial for a VTOL drone in this weight class and supports roles beyond direct collision with another UAV. Using the 16 kg reference in the available information, the payload represents 18.75% of the take-off mass, leaving 13 kg for propulsion, energy storage, airframe, seeker, navigation, communications, and flight controls. Its endurance also shows why maximum figures cannot be combined into one flight profile: 20 minutes at 200 km/h mathematically equals 66.7 km and at 400 km/h equals 133.3 km, both well beyond the stated 30+ km range. Vertical climb, acceleration, maneuvering, terminal pursuit, reserves and different electric and turbine energy requirements therefore consume a large part of the theoretical distance.

The turbine-powered version's speed, for its part, matters principally through closing geometry. The Shadow 3 covers 5 km in 90 seconds at 200 km/h but 45 seconds at 400 km/h; 10 km takes three minutes versus 90 seconds, and 20 km six minutes versus three. Yet a 400 km/h interceptor chasing a 200 km/h UAV from 5 km behind has only 200 km/h closing speed and still needs 90 seconds to catch it, excluding acceleration and maneuvering. In a head-on geometry, combined closing speed rises to 600 km/h, and the same 5 km closes in 30 seconds. Radar positioning and early launch can consequently matter as much as maximum interceptor speed.

At IDEX 2025, Nimr's Ajban 442A 4×4 carried three Shadow 3 vertical canisters at the rear and a detection system above the vehicle, creating three ready engagements if one drone is used per target. Vertical storage removes the need for a horizontal launch rail already pointed toward the threat, while folding rear surfaces reduce the Shadow 3's stored footprint. The arrangement also moves the launch point with a convoy or maneuvering formation rather than tying the interceptor to a fixed position. Its stated range does not equal a 30 km defended radius, however, because target altitude, direction, detection distance, reaction time, acceleration, and closing geometry determine where an interception can actually occur.

Therefore, the Shadow 3 combines GNSS navigation with an optical seeker because interception cannot rely on fixed coordinates. A target moving at 200 km/h travels 1 km every 18 seconds, while one at 400 km/h covers the same distance in 9 seconds, requiring the terminal guidance to be continually corrected against target motion. Computer vision and target recognition provide this moving-target function and can also support terminal guidance against ground objects, while GPS anti-jamming and computer-vision navigation reduce dependence on satellite positioning. Important performance variables remain unavailable, including seeker acquisition range, field of view, thermal capability, climb rate, sustained speed, maneuver limits, minimum engagement distance and probability of kill. No proximity fuze or defeat mechanism has been specified, leaving unclear whether interception uses impact, fragmentation, or another effect.

The strike role had progressed to powered flight by March 19, 2025, when EDGE showed an actual Shadow 3 flying into two stacked shipping containers, although the real sequence did not show take-off. The same 3 kg payload, 30+ km range, optical seeker, computer vision and autonomous terminal guidance can therefore support either an aerial interception or attack against a surface object. However, the Shadow 3 occupies a heavier segment than several emerging interceptor drones. Ukraine's Jedi weighs just over 4 kg, carries 500 g, and exceeds 350 km/h, while its Litavr reaches 350 km/h, 40 km range, and 9 km altitude with both an air-to-air and ground-attack capability; the Talion, for its part, was authorized in June 2026 for both interceptor and strike missions. South Korea's 2.7 kg GOB reaches 350 km/h and uses a direct collision method, while Estonia's P4P concept exceeds 600 km/h during its rocket-assisted terminal phase for targets at 2 to 8 km altitude.

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Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.