Ukraine at SAHA 2026: UCDI report from the exhibition

The Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry (UCDI) presented the national pavilion at SAHA 2026, one of the world’s largest defence exhibitions, held in Istanbul from May 5 to 9. The event brought together participants from more than 120 countries and over 1,700 companies showcasing the latest developments in defence industry technologies.

UCDI represented Ukraine’s private defence manufacturers through the ZBROYA exposition — a joint national pavilion featuring 15 companies. During the exhibition, the ZBROYA pavilion welcomed thousands of visitors, while participating companies held more than 100 B2B meetings.

During the event, the Ukrainian Arms Council also signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in innovation and technological development with the SAHA İstanbul Defence & Aerospace Cluster Association. In addition, the Council’s Executive Director, Ihor Fedirko, took part in the panel discussion “FPV Drones and New Approaches in Asymmetric Warfare.”

According to Fedirko, SAHA 2026 once again demonstrated strong global interest in Ukrainian defence industry products, attracting visitors from the Baltic states to the Middle East.

“Unsurprisingly, unmanned systems drew the greatest attention, particularly interceptor drones, as well as other short-range air defence solutions such as detection systems, radar technologies, acoustic sensors, and signal jamming systems,” he said. “Demand for ground robotic systems is also steadily growing.”

Participants of the ZBROYA pavilion at SAHA 2026 included AIDronesUA, BTRY.Energy, Chaklun, EDRONE, F-Drones, Fire Point, Grim Tech, Motor-G, Phantom Defense, RAROG Aerospace, RAROG Tactical Gear, RENDROCK Ukraine, Spectre Industries, Tekhnari, and December1.

Among the products showcased at the Ukrainian pavilion were the MAUL ground robotic system by AIDronesUA, the CHAKLUN unmanned aerial system by Chaklun, the Baton interceptor drone designed to protect critical infrastructure by EDRONE, the F7 LITAVR by F-Drones, Fire Point’s line of drones and missiles, Grim Tech’s unmanned systems portfolio, Phantom Defense’s Balaban and Blade interceptor drones, and other defence tech solutions.