AFRIDEX, the “Africa International Defence Exhibition”, has announced the opening of its areas for static outdoor displays and live demonstrations. This provides the organizer with an expanded platform on which exhibiting companies in the defence and security sector can present their operational capabilities live before international delegations, procurement decision-makers, military leadership, industry leaders, and global media.
AFRIDEX will take place from 26 to 29 October 2026 at Eko Atlantic in Lagos, Nigeria, and brings together governments, military leaders, political decision-makers, and representatives of the global defence industry to address shared security challenges and to promote long-term stability and growth. A genuine challenge, not only in Africa. According to its own statements, AFRIDEX will be the largest defence fair in Africa.
In addition, AFRIDEX, according to its own statements, creates one of the world’s most operationally immersive environments for defence displays by combining large-scale outdoor capability presentations, cross-sector live demonstrations, and high-level industry exchanges in a single integrated event landscape. The scope and orientation of the program position AFRIDEX as one of the world’s most operationally focused defence exhibitions.
AFRIDEX offers live demonstrations on land, air and sea
The Africa International Defence Exhibition is designed to promote the development of capabilities, interoperability, and resilience through structured exchange across the domains land, sea, air, space, and cyber, according to the organizer. The outdoor static displays area is within walking distance of the main halls and offers exhibitors their own open-air environment to present significant defence and security assets beyond the traditional trade-show format.
In this area, a wide range of capabilities from the land, air, and sea domains are expected to be on display – including armored vehicles, battle tanks, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), statically displayed aircraft, maritime platforms, mobile command centers, communications systems, robotics, autonomous technologies, as well as advanced sensor systems. In addition to the static presentations, AFRIDEX will introduce a dedicated area for live demonstrations.
This provides exhibitors with a platform to demonstrate their systems and technologies to industry representatives, official delegations, procurement teams, and media representatives. The live demonstration program includes demonstrations across various areas, including vehicular mobility, VTOL drone systems, robotics, counter-unmanned systems (C-UAS) simulations, C4ISR technologies, communications systems, surveillance capabilities, maritime security technologies, as well as disaster response scenarios.
Nigeria mirrors Africa’s focus on modern defense
The approved demonstrations will take place over several days as part of the official live program. The exact schedules will be published through the official event communications channels, digital platforms, and in the AFRIDEX event guide. AFRIDEX has been designed to enable meaningful collaboration between governments, armed forces, and industry, while supporting procurement processes, the development of partnerships, and long-term security policy priorities across the continent.
The drone demonstrations will concentrate on authorized VTOL systems. The maritime and water-based demonstration program leverages the venue’s coastal setting to present maritime surveillance systems, smaller watercraft, unmanned surface vessels, and coastal security technologies in a real operating environment. As the host country, Nigeria, with AFRIDEX, reflects Africa’s growing focus on modern defense capabilities, industrial growth, and coordinated approaches to common regional and international security challenges.
Odiri Umusu, AFRIDEX Portfolio Director at dmg events, said: “AFRIDEX represents a significant step forward in creating a global exhibition platform for defense and security in Africa. The integration of live demonstrations and large-scale presentations of capabilities provides exhibitors, delegations, and those responsible for procurement with a far more immersive understanding of operational performance, innovations, and defense technology.”
