Although IDEF was planned to be held on May 9-12, it was postponed to July due to the May 14 general elections. The fair was held in August, due to Covid 19, instead of May, which suffered a similar fate two years ago. Even though it can be seen in the numbers that the change in the date of the fair affected the participation negatively, those who want to witness and partner with Turkiye’s progress in the field of defence will take their place.
IDEF was held every two years in Istanbul in August 2021 under extreme measures to combat Covid 19. 1238 companies and 68,795 professional visitors from 94 countries attended IDEF in 2021. Some 163 delegations from 81 countries and two international organizations participated in the fair. In total, 94 national and international contracts were signed at the fair.
IDEF 2023, which will be held for the 16th time in about three weeks, aims to take this result to the next level. One of the most important features of this fair is the participation of China with 66 companies. China will be the country that brings the most foreign companies to the fair. Conversely, Russia has not been invited to fairs in the Western world since its aggression on Ukraine. Russia will not take part in the fair this year. Due to the negative course of Turkiye-US relations, US companies approached the 2021 expo negatively. Lockheed Martin, the defence giant in the USA and the world, did not participate in the 2021 fair. The company is on the verge of selling F-16 modernization kits and 40 F-16 Vipers to Turkiye and is at the fair this year.
The fair belongs to the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TAFF). The foundation will be presented with almost a completely new management. A significant part of the top management, including TAFF, Defence Industry Agency (SSB) and Defence Ministry (MSB), was renewed.
This year, companies from 26 countries will participate in the fair; Eight from France, two from the Republic of Korea, two from Serbia, three from Czechia, one from Azerbaijan, four from Bulgaria, 66 from China, ten from the United Kingdom, seven from Germany, one from Sweden, five from the USA, one from the United Arab Emirates, one from Spain, seven from Bosnia and Herzegovina, one from Poland, two from India, one from Qatar, one from Jordan, one from Ukraine, three from Italy, four from Pakistan, one from Saudi Arabia, 14 from Republic of South Africa, one from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, and one from Malaysia.
