SAHA 2026 Expo: A great success for Turkiye
Dr. Syed Mehboob
Economic and Political Analyst
http//:www.thenewslark.com
Brother country Turkiye has many jewels on its crown. It is an integral and very important part of Muslim Ummah, a friend, brother of Pakistan and a country very close to the hearts of Pakistanis. Its success is Pakistan’s own success and we celebrate it equally like our Turkish brothers and sisters. Despite having a strong desire for peace, it is very important to have deterrence and to have a strong defence line to prevent the desires and designs of aggressors. Turkish Defense industry Alhamdulillah, is moving towards great achievement and its defense technologies’ advancement, accuracy , precision has been accepted worldwide.
SAHA 2026, one of the most prestigious gathering in the global defense and aerospace industry, open new vistas for all those who are interested in defense technology. This international exhibition continued from May 5 to May 9 2026. It was not just an event, it was a strategic milestone for Turkiye and a powerful statement to global community. It was a great success for Turkiye and I, as the Senior Research Editor of the News Lark, express my heartiest sentiments and congratulations to the organizers , exhibitors who made this event a historical success. Today global defense budget is US$ 2,700 billion or US$ 2.7 trillion. No doubt, after illegal, unjustified aggression and genocide of Israel against Gaza people, killing 50,000 children and 18,000 women has jeopardized the global peace. We are living in an era of increasing threat and recent Israel-US attacks on Iran and closure of Strait of Hormuz created new threats for the peace and economic stability of the region. In this environment, Turkish role is very important and it is not a bystander. It is an acting and effective role player. Turkiye is moving forward as an active contributor, leveraging its indigenous technologies and industrial strengths, Wars, tariffs, cyber threats, supply chain crises , these are not distant challenges. Turkish leadership believes defense must be deeply integrated with technology. Keeping in view cyber and hybrid threats it is not optional, but essential. Turkiye is rising to the challenge with robust capabilities and bold, forward looking strategies.
SAHA expo 2026 was more than a trade exhibiyion. It was a strategic platform that reflected Turkish impressive progress in defense and aerospace and highlighted Turkish global role.
This exhibition was hosted at the Istanbul Expo Centre, covering more than 100,000 square meters. There were 1,478 exhibitors , more than 101,317 companies, strategic policy makers from 120 countries visited and there were 27,567 meetings among G2G/G2B/B2B. There were global panels, expert insights, and cutting edge showcases ranging from unmanned systems and space technologies to Artificial Intelligence powered land, air, and naval platforms. There were several items source of attraction including the FPV Drones , and there were several interactive zones like SAHA UGV, FPV Drones Area, Rover Challenge etc. In 2025, Turkiye ranked 11th globally in Defense exports , commanding a 1.8% share and reached US$ 10 plus billion in exports including more than US$ 2.2 billion from UAVs by delivering 230 products to a 185 countries, a 48% increase from the previous year.
But we are not only talking about market entry. Our focus is on building deeper industrial and security cooperation in key strategic regions. With our strong engineering base, flexible industrial infrastructure, and unique geographic advantage, Türkiye is positioned to offer solutions both regionally and globally.
The SAHA expo is a Defense Industry Fair held in Turkiye, and organized by the Association of SAHA Istanbul Defense, Aviation and Aerospace Cluster. It was first held in 2018, and took place at Istanbul Fair enter.
The organization association was formed in Istanbul by 27 defense companies in 2015. The fair hosts the products of companies, which design, develop and manufacture subsystems and components of advanced technology platform in the field of defense, maritime, aviation and aerospace. It is planned that the event will be recurring Biennially. The fair is sponsored mainly by major Turkish defense companies, but also by local contractors. SAHA 2026 was a great success for Turkish Defense Industry as about 1,700 companies, including 263 international forms, and over 30,000 industry professionals from more than 120 countries were in attendance. SAHA 2026 has allocated 20,000 square meters for outdoor exhibition space, making it one of the largest editions of the event.
A total 203 new products were introduced , and 164 signing ceremonies were held. The event aimed to enhance total defense export value from US$ 6.2 billion to US$ 8 billion. Participants from Europe , the USA, and Canada stood out, while many companies , companies representatives, official delegations, trade delegations, and visitors from four continents were gathered at the event. Several high tech and game changer products met the global ecosystem for the first time at SAHA 2026.Domestically developed unmanned naval vehicles were also displayed at Atakov Marine as part of the fair.
It was a great achievement for SAHA that about US$ 8 billion in export contracts were signed during three day from 5 to 7 May 2026.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 8 that Turkiye ’s defense industry has become a trusted and preferred ecosystem attracting high demand not only in its region but worldwide,
Speaking at the expo, Erdoğan said Türkiye has “proudly written its name” among countries whose star is shining globally in defense, aviation, and space technology.
A total of 1,763 companies, including 1,500 domestic firms, took part in the fair, while 203 products with new features were unveiled for the first time, he said.
In its previous edition, SAHA EXPO brought together 1,478 companies from 120 countries, hosted 22.467 scheduled B2B meetings, facilitated 133 strategic cooperation agreements, and generated $6.2 billion in commercial transactions, marking a major milestone in the global defence and aerospace arena.
Among the latest products from Turkiye’s prolific defense industry is a weapon directly inspired by the secretive AGM 114 R9 X variant of the widely back in 2017, Named Nester, which is Turkish for scalpel, the new weapon features exactly the same kind of array of pop out, sword like blades as used on the AGM 114R9X, a weapon popularly dubbed “ Flying Ginsu” or “ Ninja” due to its unusual capabilities
Produced by Roketsan, the weapon was unveiled at the SAHA 2026 International Defense and Aerospace Exhibition in Istanbul. Like the AGM 119 RX, the weapon was developed explicitly to prosecute targeted strikes while minimizing the risk of collateral damage to an extreme degree.
As for the MAM-L, the manufacturer states that this is around 3.3 feet long, has a diameter of 6.3 inches, and a range of 9.3 miles. The munition reportedly weighs around 48 pounds. The new weapon is likely broadly similar in terms of dimensions and range. The Hellfire is a considerably bigger weapon than the MAM-L, being around 5.2 feet long and weighing closer to 100 pounds.
It should be noted that the MAM-L was developed from the L-UMTAS guided missile, essentially being an unpowered version featuring a similar guidance system. It’s not clear if the Neşter is powered or not, but being unpowered would reduce the kinetic effect of its impact, at least compared with the AGM-114R9X, and, without a warhead, this is critical for its destructive power.
L-UMTAS
Both the basic AGM-114R series and the MAM-L use laser guidance. However, the AGM-114R9X is thought to feature a unique additional guidance capability that leverages automation in order to strike so precisely on just one part of a vehicle.
One possibility could be a very fine-tuned imaging infrared (IIR) guidance package that zeroes in on a specific section of a vehicle automatically. This could be paired with laser guidance for initial cuing or be a standalone IIR seeker and logic package.
SAHA 2026 is a great success for Turkiye, its defense industry and for whole Muslim Ummah.
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