Genre Defense Country United Arab Emirates Attendance Nearly 45,000 in 2009 | Location(s) Abu Dhabi Inaugurated 1993 | |
Venue Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre | ||
The International Defence Exhibition & Conference, or IDEX, is a biennial arms and defence technology sales exhibition. According to the Jane's Defence Weekly website, IDEX is the largest arms exhibition in the Middle East. The business conducted at the 2005 IDEX totalled 2 billion US dollars. According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the arms sales of the SIPRI Top 100 arms-producing and military services companies in 2013 (outside China) totalled 402 billion US dollars.
IDEX for the past several show have been held in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) at Abu Dhabi and will again host in 2015. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces is the show's benefactor. It was previously held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and will be held at the same place again in 2015.
As of 2010 well known exhibitors for the 2011 show are Lockheed Martin, Airbus Group, Jobaria Defence, Streit Group, Oshkosh Corporation and Saab. The show is organized through the state-run Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC), managed by Ali Bin Harmal Al Dhaheri.
In 2017, the show attracted controversy for hosting sales representatives from companies with links to alleged war crimes in Yemen.