SAHA 2026: Istanbul to Host Europe’s Largest Defense, Aerospace, and Space Industry Fair
Istanbul is preparing to host SAHA 2026, the International Defense, Aerospace, and Space Industry Fair, from May 5-9, 2026, at the Istanbul Expo Center. Organized by SAHA Istanbul, Turkey’s and Europe’s largest defense, aerospace, and space industry cluster, this will be the fifth iteration of the prestigious event.
The fair, positioned with the vision of “Master technology, shape the future,” is designed as a strategic platform focused on investment, business development, and commercialization. SAHA 2026 aims to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a gateway to the global ecosystem in the defense, aerospace, and space industries, having established itself as one of the sector’s most esteemed international events.
A Growing Hub for Defense and Technology
Since its inception in 2018, SAHA has become a crucial meeting point for the defense, aerospace, and space industries, expanding its scope each year. SAHA 2026 is more than just a showcase for Turkey’s national defense industry’s production power, R&D capabilities, and export potential; it also fosters international collaborations across a broad spectrum of future technologies, including defense, aviation, maritime, space, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
The first event in 2018 hosted 183 companies (152 domestic, 31 foreign) from 12 countries across an area of 2,600 square meters, facilitating over 600 B2B meetings and attracting more than 13,000 visitors.
By 2021, the event had expanded to cover 40,000 square meters with participation from 30 countries. The number of participants exceeded 600, and total visitors surpassed 25,000.
In 2022, SAHA’s scale and internationalization significantly increased, featuring 957 companies (567 domestic, 390 foreign) from 109 countries. The event hosted over 80,000 visitors across 60,000 square meters, with 40,000 being industry professionals. It also saw the participation of 268 official and 112 commercial delegations, resulting in 114 agreements worth over 1 billion dollars.
SAHA reached its peak in both volume and quality in 2024, with 1,478 participating companies from 121 countries. They set up stands across a total area of 90,000 square meters (80,000 indoor, 10,000 outdoor). The total number of visitors was 101,337, with 25,944 professional visitors. The event facilitated 22,467 scheduled B2B meetings, hosted 488 official and 178 commercial delegation members, and welcomed 27 ministers, 6 defense industry presidents, and 6 chiefs of general staff. A total of 208 product launches were made, and 133 agreements worth 6.2 billion dollars were signed.
SAHA 2026: Setting New Records
Preparations for SAHA 2026 are well underway. The upcoming fair is projected to open its doors across 400,000 square meters, hosting over 1,700 participating companies from more than 120 countries. During the event, more than 25,000 scheduled B2B meetings are expected to take place, and over 200,000 visitors are anticipated, signaling new records for SAHA.
SAHA continuously contributes to the stronger integration of Turkish companies into the international defense industry supply chain. Major international defense companies engage with Turkish manufacturers for joint projects, supply agreements, and technology sharing, thereby increasing Turkey’s export capacity and enhancing the visibility of local firms in the global market.
The fair has also become an innovation hub showcasing domestic and national technologies. Products developed in areas such as digitalization in the defense industry, AI-powered systems, next-generation ammunition technologies, unmanned land-air-sea vehicles, autonomous systems, and electronic warfare solutions will be unveiled for the first time at SAHA.
Connecting Decision-Makers and Showcasing Innovation
A critical component of the fair will be the high-level participation of commercial and official delegations. Purchasing and supply delegations will directly engage with participating companies to evaluate their capabilities on-site for procurement, co-production, program-based collaborations, and long-term capacity planning. Official delegations and corporate decision-makers will gain a strong foundation for high-level coordination, trust-based cooperation, and strategic agenda building by observing the ecosystem’s capacity map firsthand.
SAHA 2026’s innovative program structure is expanding to meet the sector’s needs. The extended Outdoor Exhibition Area, along with visits to naval elements at Sarayburnu and Ataköy Port, will offer opportunities for close inspection and interaction with full-scale platforms. Live demonstrations and competitions, such as the FPV Drone Area, SAHA Unmanned Ground Vehicle Challenge, and SAHA Rover Challenge, will reinforce the event’s field-oriented character with operational scenario-like demonstrations.
Another significant event, World Drone Wars, is positioned as an outcome-oriented platform that, for the first time globally, allows for testing FPV drone technologies in real combat environments and rapidly maturing innovative solutions. This initiative aims to strengthen Turkey’s position as a reference country in the FPV field and contribute to the transformation of FPV drones into a highly effective capability by guiding them along the doctrine-technology-operation axis.
New Products and Global Investment Agenda
“SAHA Talks” sessions and keynote speeches will address topics such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, dual-use technologies, and the changing threat environment from a decision-maker’s perspective.
The “Space Dome,” designed in a planetarium style with a focus on space technologies, will serve as a focused event stage hosting panels and keynote speeches, bringing together international guests, astronauts, industry leaders, and decision-makers under one roof.
Additionally, more than 300 new products across land, sea, air, space, and unmanned systems are expected to be launched, alongside signing ceremonies announcing agreements for technology transfer, co-development, and long-term supply partnerships.
SAHA 2026 will also provide an effective meeting ground where defense innovation intersects with the global investment agenda. In dual-use technology areas aligning with the priorities of mechanisms like NATO DIANA and the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), the fair aims for visibility, matchmaking, and scaling-focused interactions for startups, scalable SMEs, institutional investors, and strategic partners. In this context, SAHA 2026 strengthens an investment-based fair approach that addresses innovation not only as an idea but also in terms of supply chain, production capability, and market access.
By integrating exhibition, experience, meeting, and content layers under a single strategic umbrella, SAHA 2026 is positioned in Istanbul as a business development platform that strongly supports Turkey’s vision of becoming a global power in technology production, accelerates international cooperation and technological deepening in the defense and aerospace ecosystem, and generates outcomes for participants.
