The presence of Israeli defense firms at IDEX would have been unthinkable just years ago, but it is now a reality.

    Last week, The National Interest reported on day 1 of IDEX 2025, the latest and greatest edition of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference, an expo that has taken place biennially in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), since 1993.

    Now that IDEX 2025 has fully wrapped up (it ran from February 17-21, 2025), The National Interest will touch upon some of the highlights of the remainder of the event. As was the case with day 1, we shall rely heavily (though not entirely) upon The Washington Times’ Threat Status segment, which had National Security Editor Guy Taylor report from the event (backed up by Universal Desk Editor Vaughn Cockayne).

1.     Israelis at IDEX

    The presence of Israeli defense firms at IDEX would have been unthinkable just years ago, but it is now a reality after the signing of the Abraham Accords in September 2020. Even as recently as IDEX 2023, the Israeli presence was muted—with IAI, Elbit Systems, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems as the only three such companies present—as that edition was held just one month after the Israel-Hamas war began.

    This past February, however, it was a different story. As Natasha Turak of CNBC reports:

    “A record 34 Israeli companies exhibited at IDEX this week … reception for the Jewish state’s arms manufacturers at the event was overwhelmingly positive, according to executives of the companies at the expo … ‘We felt very welcome and we felt at home here,’ Boaz Levy, CEO of Israel Aerospace Industries, Israel’s major state-owned aerospace and aviation manufacturer, told CNBC during the event … ‘The hospitality, the visits of all our customers and the administration here was really good, and it is like any other show in the world.’”

1.     The latest Chinese menace: A supersonic anti-ship missile at IDEX

    Going back to the subject of Taylor’s reporting, on day 3, he made his way over to the Chinese pavilion, which was (perhaps fortuitously) located on the opposite end of the ADNEC host facility from the American exhibits. Upon his arrival therein, Taylor paid special attention to the CM-302 supersonic anti-ship missile, citing it as a prime example of how “China has outpaced the United States in hypersonic missile development in recent years.” The CM-302 is an export version of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) YJ-12, which, according to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, has a range of 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) and can reach speeds of up to Mach 3.

1.     Cockayne on Russia and U.S.-Saudi exhibits

    Meanwhile, China’s ever-so-convenient ally Russia was also plenty well represented at IDEX 2025. Cockayne penned an article on the unveiling of the Supercam 350 drone made by the Rostec State Corp., quoting an official company statement thusly:

    “Thanks to the work of the Supercam S350 drones, numerous types of foreign equipment were detected and destroyed [in Ukraine, that is]. Russian drones have also demonstrated high efficiency in adjusting fire on ammunition depots, temporary deployment points, strongholds and command posts, aerial reconnaissance points and enemy UAV control points.”

    Of course, American defense firms certainly weren’t resting on their laurels at IDEX 2025, and, as Cockayne reports in a separate article, at least one such contractor, San Diego-based General Atomics, is mulling a potential business partnership with one of the UAE’s largest fellow Gulf Cooperation Council members, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). More specifically, General Atomics is looking at a potential sale of MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, which, if it comes to fruition, would signify one of the first major drone deals between Saudi Arabia and a Western supplier; historically, the KSA has purchased drones from non-Western supplies, including China and Türkiye.