The 17th International Defence Industry Fair hosted by the Turkish MoND, IDEF 2025, ran in Istanbul over six days in late July, reports Bob Morrison.
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Organised biennially by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation, IDEF is by far the largest defence expo in the Eurasian region and usually ranks in the top five of this type of international event. Since JOINT-FORCES was created in 2018 following the demise of the publishing house behind COMBAT & SURVIVAL Magazine, diary clashes plus COVID-19 travel restrictions prevented us covering this really interesting defence fair, but this year all the ducks lined up to allow me to attend the event for five out of six very interesting days.
Türkiye, a NATO member since 1952, has close to half a million active duty military personnel, modernised armed forces and equipment, and a very extensive domestic defence manufacturing industry. The country, which bridges the continents of Europe and Asia, is both the guardian of the Alliance’s south-eastern flank and a major contributor to international peacekeeping operations.
My first impression once eventually inside IDEF on Opening Day Tuesday was that over the five days available to me I was never going to be able to get around all eleven primary exhibitions halls plus the two extra halls and outdoor display at the nearby Atatürk Airport terminal site, not to mention the port area on the northern shore of the Sea of Marmara with its adjacent exhibition stands area. However I persevered and by Saturday afternoon, despite not yet being one hundred percent recovered from last year’s major health challenges, I had actually managed to get around all the halls and stands across all three Istanbul sites, though I simply didn’t have enough time to visit the linked WOW Convention Center with its additional exhibition stands. I have to admit that by the afternoon of Day 5 I was well and truly chinstrapped, with heatwave temperatures around 36-38°C most days not making things any easier, but I am really glad I didn’t wimp out because there were so many new things to see, photograph and discuss with manufacturers’ representatives.
It goes without saying, bearing in mind how Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine has so markedly changed the face of warfare over the last three and a half years, that drones and counter-drone systems were very much in the ascendancy in Istanbul; as they were at the major exhibitions in Abu Dhabi, Athens and Madrid I attended earlier this year. However as we have also seen in the Russia-Ukraine War, uncrewed and optionally crewed systems have not yet totally replaced conventional armour on the battlefield, especially as ground can still mostly only be held by physically putting boots upon it, so tracked and wheeled armour still featured heavily at the show.
Turkish-produced vehicles have long been operationally deployed by Türkiye’s armed forces, but in recent years other NATO nations rearming to be prepared for any future Russian expansionism have been procuring Turkish systems in a way that would have been unthought of prior to the Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. It was interesting to see many of these in the metal, so to speak.
Yes, I’m really glad I spent a week in July in Istanbul, though I could really do with a fortnight chilling out on the Turkish Aegean to compensate… though I suspect that’s unlikely to happen for the foreseeable future. Usually the month of August is a quiet time for defence news releases, so hopefully this will give me a chance to pen a few features based on images and intel gathered at the recent defence shows before I have to jump back onto the carousel for MSPO in Poland and DSEI in London at the start of September.
[images © Bob Morrison]
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