IDEX is the defense world’s mirror—if it’s on this floor, it will be on a border soon. The 2025 edition doubled‑down on the uncrewed vs counter‑uncrewed arms race, with electronic warfare filling the gaps. The leitmotif: own the stack—from sensor to decision to effect—using modular, export‑friendly software as the glue.
Three theaters of innovation
1) Counter‑UAS becomes a layered service. Radar + EO/IR + RF sensing fused by AI is now baseline. The new edge is cost per intercept and rules‑of‑engagement tooling that lets operators escalate from jamming to hard‑kill with less cognitive overhead.
2) AI ISR without the hype. Vendors are shipping on‑platform models for target recognition that survive bandwidth‑denied environments, plus mission re‑planning that actually respects human approval loops. The best demos showed debrief products that auto‑compile mission evidence for commanders and lawyers alike.
3) Maritime autonomy grows teeth. Uncrewed surface and subsurface vessels moved from surveillance novelties to modular payload trucks—mines, sonars, EW pods—designed for contested littorals.
The geopolitics you could feel
Export controls and sanction‑safe supply chains are now product features. Middle East primes are positioning as integration houses, absorbing Western subsystems and localizing software. If you’re a startup with a clever sensor, the play is to be plug‑and‑fight compatible with the dominant C2 platforms—and to show your cyber hardening like a badge.
For dual‑use founders
Defense dollars are chasing attritable platforms, RF wizardry and resilient PNT. Your pitch lands if you can quantify mission availability and cost per effect—and if your export narrative is legally boring.
Dates & place: 17–21 February 2025, ADNEC, Abu Dhabi.
