Middle East

The World Defense Show 2026 opens February 8 in Riyadh, marking Saudi Arabia's strategic evolution from defense hardware consumer to industrial partner under Vision 2030. With defense localization rising from 4% (2018) to 25% (2024) against a 50% target by 2030, the exhibition has expanded 58% to host 925 exhibitors from 80 countries across 273,000 square meters. The event introduces dedicated Naval, Unmanned Systems, Space Domain, and Future Defense Lab zones, reflecting regional security priorities and emerging technologies. Live demonstrations across a 2,700-meter runway and land track will showcase multi-domain integration, while new systems from SAMI, Rostec, BAE Systems, and others highlight AI-driven autonomy and localized production. Supported by a $78 billion military budget, WDS 2026 positions Riyadh as a central node in global defense supply chains, with international primes transitioning from suppliers to production partners through initiatives like the Saudi Supply Chain Zone.

Visiting the UMEX & SimTEX 2026 exhibition taking place at the ADNEC Centre in Abu Dhabi this week, a new system caught our attention. Slovenian company Carboteh has introduced an unconventional approach to protecting...

The opening week of 2026 has been defined by a singular, paradigmatic shift in modern warfare: the "catastrophic failure" of Venezuela's integrated air defense network during a U.S. special operation. The operation succeeded not through brute force, but by rendering Venezuela's Russian S-300VM and Chinese "anti-stealth" radars effectively blind, validating the supremacy of advanced electronic warfare over legacy kinetic defenses. This failure has sent shockwaves through the global defense market, underscoring why nations like Spain and Germany are rushing to modernize their air defense architectures with Western alternatives, while massive procurement programs exceeding $301 billion signal an accelerated transformation toward unmanned systems, directed energy weapons, and indigenous production capabilities.

Turkey's defense industry transformation extends far beyond its celebrated drones. Now ranking 11th globally in defense exports, Turkey is executing a comprehensive strategy to become a top-tier arms supplier. With 75% of exports flowing to Western markets and five firms in Defense News' Top 100, Turkey is methodically building a complete defense ecosystem through combat-proven systems, integrated defense diplomacy, strategic self-reliance, and real-world R&D in active conflict zones.

Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® and XTEND have achieved a major milestone in JADC2 by integrating the XOS operating system with the MDCX™ autonomy platform. This technical breakthrough enables a single operator to simultaneously command multiple drone classes, eliminating the friction of mission handoffs. From "marsupial" drone deployments to operating in GPS-denied environments, explore how this collaboration is abbreviating the data-to-decision timeline and redefining autonomous mission execution.

As traditional defense primes face mounting competition from agile “neoprimes” such as Anduril, Palantir and Helsing, the balance of innovation is shifting toward software-defined warfare and scalable, dual-use technologies, while global industry consolidation—marked by Boeing’s integration of Spirit AeroSystems and other strategic mergers—signals an intensified race to secure control over the defense technology value chain. Our Defense-Tech weekly report highlights these trends.

In early October 2025, a coordinated wave of unmanned aerial system (UAS) incursions—widely attributed to Russia—targeted critical infrastructure across at least ten European nations. The unprecedented campaign exposed the fragility of Europe’s air defenses...