Defence events in Warsaw

The best single venue for reading CEE and eastern-flank security priorities and meeting regional decision-makers. Strong fit for firms positioning around the NATO eastern flank.

The congress convenes senior Polish government, military and state-owned-enterprise decision-makers alongside technology suppliers, making it a venue for suppliers and SMEs to reach public-sector buyers and prime contractors. Sessions on technological sovereignty, public-private partnership, procurement (PZP) and defence funding map directly to commercial opportunities for domestic vendors. For startups and SMEs it offers direct visibility with ministries and critical-infrastructure operators who set requirements and budgets.

With European defence budgets expanding sharply, Warsaw is a frontline hub for air-defence procurement decisions, making this summit a rare small-room forum for suppliers to engage directly with programme leads and government buyers on cost, acquisition speed, and co-production pathways. The agenda explicitly targets 'pilot projects, framework paths, test windows, co-production options and financing routes', offering SMEs and startups concrete entry points into European air-defence programmes. The intimate format — 30+ senior speakers, no large expo floor — means networking yields direct decision-maker access rather than booth traffic.

Poland is a frontline NATO state rapidly scaling its drone procurement and C-UAS capabilities, making Warsaw an increasingly strategic market for UAS suppliers targeting defence and dual-use contracts in Central and Eastern Europe. Co-location with the broader Warsaw Security & Defence Expo block gives exhibitors direct access to uniformed services, government procurement representatives, and defence-adjacent buyers in a single venue. For SMEs and startups, the event's relatively low entry costs and regional profile offer a cost-efficient route to the Polish and wider CEE market before competing at larger global shows.