Gokhan Ergocun
22 July 2025•Update: 22 July 2025
- IDEF expected to be attended by top officials, ministers, commanders from more than 30 countries
ISTANBUL
The International Defense Industry Fair, one of the world's largest defense events, opened its doors in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Tuesday.
The 17th edition of the six-day defense fair is being held simultaneously at the Istanbul Fair Center, Ataturk Airport, Wow Hotel, and Atakoy Marina.
The event, organized by KFA Fairs with support from Türkiye's Defense Industries Secretariat (SSB) and the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, has Anadolu as its global communication partner.
This year's event is expected to be attended by ministers, chiefs of staff, commanders, and top officials from 33 countries, with 44 countries opening stalls.
This year, the IDEF will showcase over 400 global brands.
The exhibition's land vehicles section features main battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, electronic warfare systems, rockets and guided missiles, tactical ballistic missiles, air defense missiles, and unmanned ground vehicles.
Air vehicles include fixed-wing platforms, air defense systems, electronic warfare technologies, satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles, and aircraft engines.
The fair's naval vehicles section includes combat and support ships, fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms, unmanned surface and underwater vehicles, and command, control, and communication systems.
Visitors will be able to explore security and logistics technologies.
Extended version
SSB President Haluk Gorgun told Anadolu that the IDEF 2025 will feature some innovations.
He emphasized the importance of hosting a high-tech event in a global hub city like Istanbul for bringing people together, saying: "Countries and end-users will discuss their needs here and sign agreements and contracts."
He continued: "Over 5,000 meetings were organized at the last IDEF. I believe there will be more this time.
"We will be bringing other innovations to our fair. We have extended the fair for two days. The fair will be open to the public on the final two days, Saturday and Sunday, for those interested in the field."
During the fair, there will be various panels and speeches, and on the third day of the fair, IDEF will host an event called the Network Summit, he said.
He noted: "We will bring together people who couldn't meet each other amid the hustle and bustle of the fair in a social setting. We are ready for a packed fair."
