The SAHA 2026 International Defence and Aerospace Exhibition — Türkiye’s flagship defence expo — ran from 5–9 May at the Istanbul Expo Center, drawing 1,700 companies – 263 of them international – from over 120 countries across 400,000 square metres of exhibition space.[1] More than 30,000 industry professionals, 140 official delegations, and 200 trade procurement representatives attended the Istanbul defence show, making SAHA 2026 one of Europe’s largest defence exhibitions by floor space and exhibitor count.[2]
SAHA Istanbul was founded in 2015 with 27 member firms. Its first exhibition in 2018 hosted 170 companies and roughly 10,000 visitors.[3] Eight years on, the show has grown tenfold. Organizers planned 203 new product launches and 164 signing ceremonies at SAHA 2026 – nearly triple the export-oriented agreements from the 2024 edition[4] – and SAHA Defence and Aerospace Cluster Association President Haluk Bayraktar announced that Turkish defence firms finalized approximately $8 billion in export contracts within the first three days, up from $6.2 billion at SAHA 2024.[5] Ali Bakir of Qatar University described the shift as SAHA having “evolved from a national showcase into a genuine global meeting point for the defence and aerospace industry.”[6]
BAE Systems, MBDA, and a large Chinese pavilion anchored by Norinco were present.[7] The UAE fielded a full national pavilion under the Tawazun Council for Defence Enablement, with Tawazun Secretary General H.E. Dr. Nasser Al Nuaimi personally attending.[8] Defence Minister Yaşar Güler set the tone at the opening ceremony: “Until the 1980s, our country was largely dependent on foreign suppliers… Today, Türkiye designs, produces and exports its own systems.”[9]
SAHA 2026: The Show in Three Waves
SAHA 2026 was defined by three overlapping waves: deep-strike loitering munitions, autonomous naval platforms, and industrial self-sufficiency. The sections below catalogue what Turkish and Chinese defence vendors displayed at SAHA Expo 2026, organized by domain.
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