World Defense Show
Founded by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), World Defense Show is the global stage for defense interoperability across five domains: land, sea, air, security, and satellite. The world-class event will take place between 6-9 March 2022 and reoccur biennially in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.
Held in a purpose-built 800,000sqm venue one hour from the city centre, the show provides opportunities for more than 30,000 attendees to connect with senior-decision makers, high-level military delegations and leading industry players – all while exploring the fast-emerging opportunity to invest in Saudi Arabia.
Unlock the Middle East defense opportunity
Saudi Arabia sits at the center of three continents connecting the east and west – a geographically convenient location to convene players from all over the world. Amid major reforms, the Kingdom has become the world’s largest defense market for exporters and a key driver of growth in the global defense industry.
Under its Vision 2030 economic plan, Saudi Arabia is opening the defense industry to partnerships and investment as it seeks to localize 50% of its military expenditure. This will be the first time the industry has full scale access to Saudi military entities, and World Defense Show is the ideal place to explore those opportunities.
Join major exhibitors and startups from around the world
Major exhibitors attending the show include Lockheed-Martin, Embraer and Rolls-Royce, as well as Saudi entities including Advanced Electronics Company and Military Industries Corporation – with Saudi Arabian Military Industries being a strategic partner.
The variety of expected exhibitors, from SMEs to Primes, will be complemented by an area focused on startups. The show’s focus on the future will connect those ventures with investors, financial houses and funds ready to invest in up-and-coming talent; promoting the growth of tech-defense players while offering participants the opportunity to showcase and realize their vision for the future of defense.
Meet high-level delegations, buyers and future talent
All exhibitors will have access to a dedicated Delegations Program, designed to provide real opportunities to meet with the highest-level dignitaries from across the world. Another significant benefit of exhibiting at World Defense Show is the opportunity to participate in the KSA Government Program, offering access to the Kingdom's most influential government figures and information about Saudi Arabia's latest developments, procurement processes, and opportunities for regional and international relationships.
Another feature, the Meet the Buyer Program, creates a fantastic opportunity for exhibitors from every tier of the supply chain to meet potential buyers. Meanwhile, the Future Talent Program gives exhibitors the opportunity to meet the future industry talent, demonstrate career opportunities and showcase apprenticeship programs. The program will present exciting innovations, challenging students’ preconceptions of what working in the defense industry might mean.
Explore new and future defense technologies
Showcasing the very latest technology in military design, the show’s live interactive areas will bring together products across the five domains to show the future of defense capabilities. Live air and land displays taking place within the main event showground give World Defense Show audiences an immersive experience to witness products in action. In addition, the show will host state-of-the-art naval demonstrations by using the latest in virtual technology.
To make sure World Defense Show brings the full range of defense technologies across the five domains to audiences, the event also offers a multitude of static display platforms capable of hosting the full spectrum of defense and security technologies.
By connecting key defense contacts, primes, SMEs, and buyers, World Defense Show has laid the foundations to advance the defense industry and launch an industry-wide front against the challenges presented by ever-deeper defense systems integration.
