SAHA EXPO 2026 is set to become the main funding source for drone production and training centers that will be established simultaneously in all 81 provinces of Türkiye, thereby spreading the defense industry ecosystem across the entire country. The organization, which will take place between May 5-9, 2026, aims to reach a contract volume of $8 billion — nearly tripling the export-oriented agreement volume achieved at the previous fair.
To be held at the Istanbul Fair Center (IFM) on a total area of 400,000 square meters, SAHA EXPO 2026 will host over 140 official delegations from more than 120 countries this year. With over 1,700 companies operating in the defense and aerospace sectors participating, the fair will feature the world launch of 203 new products.
Strategic Goal: Spreading Defense to the Capillaries
Haluk Bayraktar, Chairman of the Board of SAHA İstanbul, announced that the revenue generated from the fair will be directly channeled into a technological development project. Stating that defense culture will be brought to every corner of Anatolia, Bayraktar described the project as follows:
“We will establish a drone production and training center in every province. The largest of these will be in Istanbul. We aim to set up drone training centers open to the public in every province — where young people can come, receive training, engage in production, and test drones, becoming part of an ecosystem. This year, with God’s permission, we will use the revenues generated from the SAHA EXPO fair to establish drone production and training centers. In this way, we will instantly achieve a nationwide capacity to produce millions of drones at any given moment.”
Project Updates from Industry Leaders
At the pre-fair meeting, executives from Türkiye’s leading defense industry companies shared the latest technical milestones on critical projects:
- Ahmet Akyol, General Manager of ASELSAN: Announced that new capabilities of the Steel Dome (Çelik Kubbe) and new striking forces focused on the Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan) will be exhibited for the first time.
- Mehmet Demiroğlu, General Manager of TUSAŞ: Stated that two more prototypes of the National Combat Aircraft KAAN are targeted to fly within this year.
- Mahmut Faruk Akşit, General Manager of TEI: Emphasized that they are focusing on staying ahead in the race for altitude capability and technological depth in engine technologies.
- Murat İkinci, General Manager of ROKETSAN: Noted that Türkiye possesses a supply chain vitality unmatched in Europe, and that Europe is not a competitor but an area for cooperation.
- Mehmet Karaaslan, General Manager of BMC Defense: Announced that an example of an ALTAY Tank rolling off the serial production line will be featured at the fair.
- Ali Baran, General Manager of Yongatek: Announced that 70% of the domestic AI chip design has been completed and that MCU components are ready for production.
- Hakan Altınay, President of Altınay Technology Group: Underlined that Türkiye now has a strong infrastructure that “knows what to do and how to do it.”
- Özgür Rodoplu, Member of Arca Defense: Drew attention to the upcoming international signing ceremony with the Estonian Ministry of Defense.
Operational Capacity and Global Integration
Levent Kerim Uça, Secretary General of SAHA İstanbul, shared striking data regarding the fair’s massive scale. The fair, which includes 20,000 square meters planned as open exhibition space, is expected to host over 30,000 B2B meetings. Uça stated that $4 billion of the planned 164 signing ceremonies would be directly export-oriented, emphasizing that SAHA EXPO is a “strategic partnership factory.”
The opening of TCG Anadolu to visitors in the naval systems segment and the Space Talks sessions at the Space Pavilion will make the 2026 edition the most multi-layered defense organization to date.
Source:C4Defence
