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18th edition
Land, sea and air.
One venue. Five days.
25–29 January 2027 / ADNEC Centre, Abu Dhabi
The only tri-service defence exhibition in the Middle East. Every capability a modern force buys, in one building, in one week.
Take part
Four ways in, and each has its own door.
An exhibitor, a trade visitor, an official delegation and a press office need completely different things from this site. None of them should have to hunt.
Book stand space
Shell scheme, space-only and chalet options across the halls, the marina and the outdoor demonstration area. Hall and position are allocated in booking order.
Reserve space70% already booked 02Register to attend
Free registration for defence, security and government professionals. Every application is approved individually, and IDEX is not open to the general public.
Check who can attendOpens September 2026 03Official delegations
Protocol, invitations, the VIP programme and military attaché liaison, coordinated with the Ministry of Defence. In 2025 IDEX received 55 heads of delegation and 48 ambassadors.
Protocol officeBy invitation 04Press accreditation
Press passes, filming permits and the media centre, for accredited defence and trade press.
Apply for accreditationOpens November 2026
The last edition
The largest IDEX ever held.
In February 2025 the exhibition filled 181,501 square metres and closed AED 25.15 billion in announced agreements over five days. Every figure below is the organiser's own, published in full.
Source: ADNEC Group closing release, 21 February 2025. Verified 23 August 2026.
What tri-service means
Four domains under one roof.
Most defence exhibitions specialise in one. IDEX puts land, sea, air and CBRNE capability in the same building in the same week, which is why delegations arrive as joint teams rather than single-service buyers.
Naval
Surface, sub-surface and port security, alongside NAVDEX on the ADNEC Marina with vessels in the water.
NAVDEX / ADNEC Marina
Aerospace
Rotary, fixed-wing, uncrewed systems, counter-UAS and space-based surveillance.
156 start-ups exhibited in 2025
Land
Armoured platforms, artillery, soldier systems and logistics, with live demonstrations outside the halls.
Outdoor demonstration area
CBRNE
Detection, protection and response for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats.
Dedicated CBRNE HubThe week
Five programmes run alongside the floor.
Each has its own audience and its own access rules. Where a programme needs a separate ticket, it says so here rather than three clicks in.
NAVDEX
The naval defence exhibition, on the ADNEC Marina with vessels in the water. Ninth edition.
Included
International Defence Conference
Policy sessions at ministerial and chief-of-staff level. More than 1,800 delegates attended in 2025.
Separate ticket
IDEX NXT
The innovation zone for start-ups, research institutions and future concepts.
Included
IDEX & NAVDEX Talks
Open sessions with policymakers, researchers and industry leaders, running throughout the week.
Included
CBRNE Hub and Innovation Trail
A dedicated CBRNE zone, and a curated route through the halls linking the most significant products.
IncludedIDEX 2025 gallery
The full story of 2025, captured.
Keynote sessions, packed halls, live demonstrations and the delegations that came to see them.
More than 4,000 photographs from the 2025 edition are in the official archive.
Browse the full gallery30% of the floor remains
Stand allocation closes before the build period.
Seventy per cent of the 2027 floor was reserved before the 2025 edition had even closed. Hall and position are allocated in the order bookings are received.
Organised by
A government exhibition, run commercially.
Sponsors
Higher Organising Committee chaired by His Excellency Major General Pilot Faris Khalaf Al Mazrouei.