IDEX 2025: $6.85 Billion in Deals, 206,000 Visitors, and What It Means for Defence Exhibitors

IDEX 2025 broke every record the event has set in its 32-year history. Not by small margins. The kind of numbers that make defence industry professionals recalibrate their exhibition planning for the next cycle.

206,073 visitors. A 55.5% increase from the previous edition. 1,565 exhibitors from 65 countries, up 16% from 2023. AED 25.15 billion ($6.85 billion) in signed defence deals across five days, a 10% increase over the AED 23.34 billion recorded in 2023. And 70% of the exhibition space for IDEX 2027 was pre-booked before the 2025 edition even closed its doors.

Those aren't vanity metrics. They're procurement signals. When a defence exhibition generates nearly $7 billion in signed contracts in five days, every company in the supply chain needs to understand what happened and what it means for their next move.

IDEX 2025: The Numbers That Matter

Full name: International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX), co-located with NAVDEX (Naval Defence and Maritime Security Exhibition)

Edition: 17th (biennial)

Dates: February 17 to 21, 2025

Venue: ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, UAE

Patronage: His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE

Organizer: ADNEC Group in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Defence and Tawazun Council

Exhibitors: 1,565 companies from 65 countries (16% increase from 2023). 731 companies participated for the first time, an 82% increase in new exhibitors. 213 Emirati companies made up 16% of total exhibitors.

Visitors: 206,073 attendees from 167 countries, a 55.5% increase from the 2023 edition. International visitors accounted for 57%. Top visiting countries after the UAE: China, Turkey, USA, India, France, Russia, South Korea, UK, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and Ukraine.

Exhibition space: 181,501 square meters, a 10% increase. Hall 14 was inaugurated for the first time, accommodating 341 additional exhibiting companies.

Deals signed: AED 25.15 billion ($6.85 billion) across 55 contracts over five days. Emirati companies secured 68% of the UAE Armed Forces' contracts.

International Defence Conference: 1,800+ attendees (25% increase), featuring 55 military delegation heads, 40 CEOs of defence companies, 48 ambassadors, and 65 military attaches.

Satisfaction scores: Exhibitor NPS of +34 (global exhibition benchmark: +8, meaning IDEX scored 300% above standard). Visitor NPS of +63 (global benchmark: +29, 119% above standard).

What Made IDEX 2025 Different From Previous Editions

The 55.5% visitor increase alone would have been the headline. But the structural changes underneath tell a more important story.

Seven countries exhibited at IDEX for the first time: Qatar, Ethiopia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Cyprus. The expansion into Eastern European and African participation reflects IDEX's growing reach beyond the traditional Gulf and Western defence markets.

First-time exhibitors surged 82%. Of the 1,565 companies present, 731 were new to IDEX. This indicates the event is still growing its base rather than cycling through the same participants. For returning exhibitors, this means more potential partners and more competition for visitor attention.

The deal structure shifted toward Emirati companies. With 68% of UAE Armed Forces contracts going to domestic companies, IDEX reflected Abu Dhabi's strategic push toward defence self-sufficiency. Companies like EDGE Group and International Golden Group captured major contract values. International exhibitors won contracts focused on spare parts, technical support, and maintenance services for existing systems.

Unmanned systems, AI, and cyber dominated the technology showcase. IDEX covered 17 critical defence sectors in 2025, with particular attention to autonomous platforms, AI-driven defence systems, and advanced drone technologies.

The deal pace accelerated daily. Day three produced AED 10.18 billion in contracts alone, more than the combined total of days one and two. This pattern suggests that early days were used for relationship building and technical evaluation, with procurement decisions concentrated in the second half of the event.

Orchestra Media at IDEX 2025: What We Delivered

Orchestra Media operated at scale during IDEX 2025. Our team delivered:

1,000 square meters of custom exhibition space in the main halls, designed and built for defence companies requiring technical demonstration capability, classified meeting rooms, and product display environments that meet the expectations of military procurement delegations.

1,500 square meters in the Chalet area, configured for private meetings and high-level delegation hosting. The Chalet area at IDEX serves a specific function: it's where senior military officials, government procurement leads, and C-suite executives hold the conversations that lead to the contract signatures on the exhibition floor.

Beyond the build, our team conducted dozens of B2B meetings and negotiations during the event, focused on expanding into new defence markets, strengthening existing client relationships, and positioning our clients as credible partners in the military technology space.

IDEX confirmed what we see at defence exhibitions worldwide: booth design is a strategic asset, not a cosmetic one. The companies that generated meetings with the right delegations were the ones whose spaces were built for that purpose. Open product displays without meeting infrastructure miss the primary value mechanism at a show where $6.85 billion changes hands in five days.

What IDEX 2025 Tells Us About the Defence Exhibition Calendar

IDEX's growth trajectory creates both opportunity and strategic pressure for exhibitors planning their defence exhibition calendar.

IDEX is now the largest defence exhibition in the world by visitor count. 206,073 visitors surpasses DSEI London, Eurosatory Paris, and every other defence show globally. The deal value ($6.85 billion) and satisfaction scores (300% above global exhibition benchmarks) reinforce this position.

The MENA defence market is expanding faster than European and North American markets. The visitor profile, with strong representation from China, Turkey, India, South Korea, and African nations, reflects where defence procurement budgets are growing most.

IDEX and [EDEX](/news/edex-2025-the-facts-everything-you-need-to-know) are becoming complementary anchor events. IDEX (Abu Dhabi, February, GCC-centric) and EDEX (Cairo, December, Africa and Middle East-centric) cover different buyer pools within the same broader region. Companies that exhibit at both capture a combined audience that no other pair of defence shows can match.

The 2027 edition is already 70% booked. If you're planning to exhibit at IDEX 2027 (January 25 to 29, 2027, ADNEC Abu Dhabi), space allocation decisions need to happen now.

Exhibition Strategy for IDEX: Lessons From 2025

For companies planning IDEX 2027 or evaluating whether to add IDEX to their exhibition calendar, the 2025 results offer clear strategic takeaways.

Build for meetings, not foot traffic. The $6.85 billion in deals didn't happen at open product displays. They happened in meeting rooms, chalet spaces, and private demonstration areas. Your booth design needs to prioritize enclosed meeting capability alongside product showcase space.

Plan for the delegation programme. IDEX's official delegation system routes senior military procurement officials through exhibitor spaces on structured schedules. Understanding which delegations are attending and ensuring your booth is on their route requires advance coordination with the organizer.

Differentiate for new market entrants. With seven new countries and 731 first-time exhibitors in 2025, the competition for attention is increasing. Technical demonstrations, live product comparisons, and interactive capability showcases generate more engagement than static displays.

Account for the scale. 181,501 square meters across 14 halls is a massive venue. Booth placement, wayfinding, and on-site marketing (signage, branded pathways, digital directory listings) are as important as the booth itself.

Prepare for the deal cycle. Contracts signed at IDEX follow a specific rhythm: relationship building in the first two days, technical evaluation on day three, and decision-making on days four and five. Staff your booth accordingly, with senior leadership present for the back half of the show.

Orchestra Media delivers booth design and construction for defence exhibitions at the scale IDEX demands. From concept through build to on-site show management , we handle the full exhibition lifecycle. Our experience at IDEX, EDEX, Dubai Airshow , and other major defence events means we understand the protocol requirements, delegation flow patterns, and security considerations that shape exhibition strategy in this sector.

We've built 76,000+ exhibition stands across 100+ countries. If you're planning for IDEX 2027, book a free consultation to discuss your booth design, space selection, and delegation engagement strategy.

IDEX Timeline: Edition-by-Edition Growth

The growth trajectory over the past decade explains why 70% of IDEX 2027 space is already booked:

IDEX 2017: 1,200+ exhibitors, 105,400 visitors, AED 19 billion in deals

IDEX 2019: 1,300+ exhibitors, 124,000 visitors

IDEX 2021: 900+ exhibitors, 62,000 visitors (reduced by pandemic restrictions), AED 21 billion

IDEX 2023: 1,353 exhibitors, 132,507 visitors, AED 23.34 billion

IDEX 2025: 1,565 exhibitors, 206,073 visitors, AED 25.15 billion

IDEX 2027: January 25 to 29, 2027, ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi.