The World Defense
Show 2026 event will be hosted from the 8th to 12th of February, 2026 at the
Riyadh Exhibition & Convention Centre (Malham), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The primary
function of the Future Defense Lab session, as emphasized in a quote from Kevin
Copsey, is to be "a living hub for collaboration and partnership in which
today’s security challenges—and tomorrow’s—are turned into opportunities for
growth and innovation." This is where this platform is particularly useful
in bringing together diverse stakeholders:
Industry leaders
Industry
Innovators and entrepreneurs
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) SME
Academia and researchers
The end
result would be to create a setting that promotes a resilient nation, shapes
its sovereignty, and uses youth innovation to achieve the ambitious targets set
forth under the Vision 2030 plans for Saudi Arabia.
Main
Points of the Exhibition
The World defense
Show 2026, being the third edition of such an event, functions with the overall
theme of "The Future of Defense Integration" in all domains – air,
land, sea, space, and security. The important points and focus areas are:
·
An area to display cutting-edge innovations and
provide an interface for collaboration between innovators, startups,
universities and other investors.
·
A new section that will focus on developments in
autonomous technology.
·
A new zone focused exclusively on naval defense
innovation, ranging from ships and weaponry to cyber warfare.
·
The initiative aims to link up Saudi SMEs with supply
chains around the world to support the vision of localizing 50% of defense
spending in 2030.
Content
Theaters:
Insightful discussion and presentation sessions on thought-provoking subjects including AI, human capital, tech integration, and national production.This aims to inspire young minds by conducting mentorship activities and career programs, bridging the gap between academia and industry requirements.In-flight and ground demonstrations that highlight the capabilities of military platforms and the development of multi-domain operations.
Background
and History
Organized by
the Saudi Government’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), the
World Defense Show was created with the aim of making the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia a global Defense hub, which is one of the vision goals – Vision 2030.
The show was organized for the first time in the year 2022 and saw the second
edition held successfully in 2024, which drew over 106,000 participants and
recording more than 26 billion SAR sales.
The event
has quickly transformed into a major global forum, renowned not only for the “future
of defense” agenda but also for the conventional defense systems. KPMG has been
partnering with WDS, who acts as the Knowledge Partner of KPMG in enhancing the
quality of the content programs, such as the conversations in the Content
Theaters and the Future Defense Lab.
CONCLUSION
Kevin Copsey's Future Defense Lab at WDS 2026 is a core component of the event’s mission to advance the defense integration and innovation. The Future Defense Lab, with its aim to offer a collaborative forum for all stakeholders, is poised to meet the need for increased resilience and the creation of local youth-driven capabilities. The event itself is the epitome of the realization of Vision 2030 in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, whereby it seeks to engender a diversified and knowledge-based economy, along with a strong and-autonomous defense sector fully capable of facing the challenges of the future. The meeting of local potential and international expertise in Riyadh is poised to define the future of global defense and security.
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