IDEX & NAVDEX 2027 · Abu Dhabi
A defence stand at IDEX and NAVDEX must host a delegation, hold a scale model and keep a private meeting private. Lazulite builds these stands in Dubai for defence contractors and national pavilions, with its own display technology and engineers for all five days. Since 2017, our crews have worked at five IDEX editions, and IDEX 2027 runs from 25 to 29 January at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi.
Show facts
IDEX is a biennial defence exhibition organised by ADNEC Group in Abu Dhabi, co-located with NAVDEX, the Naval Defence and Maritime Security Exhibition.
Show details checked: 2 November 2026
IDEX covers land, air and naval defence, and NAVDEX adds maritime security on the ADNEC waterfront. ADNEC Group runs both with the Ministry of Defence and Tawazun Council. Tawazun began in 1992 as the UAE Offset Group and now promotes local content in defence. EDGE Group is the listed strategic partner. At the 2025 show, Tawazun Council announced 55 deals worth AED 25.15 billion, ADNEC Group reported.
National pavilions and OEM stands fill the ADNEC halls during IDEX. In 2025 ADNEC Group counted 41 national pavilions, the UAE Pavilion largest at 25,000 square metres. Hall 14 now holds the CBRNE Hub, and IDEX NXT adds a hub for AI-driven defence solutions in 2027.
Military officials, government decision-makers and procurement specialists make up the IDEX audience, from more than 65 countries, the organiser says. It reported 206,000 visitors in 2025. Senior guests often arrive as a delegation, so plan a closed meeting room that seats the whole party.
IDEX & NAVDEX 2027 opens on Monday 25 January and closes on Friday 29 January, with doors open 9am to 5pm. The organiser expects 2,000+ senior defence leaders at the International Defence Conference but has not yet published its 2027 date. The 2025 edition ran from 17 to 21 February, so 2027 starts about three weeks earlier.
IDEX & NAVDEX 2027 is held at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, which has 12 column-free halls. For NAVDEX 2025, the organiser moored visiting naval ships at the ADNEC Marina dock edge, beside an outdoor display area. Visitors without a parking sticker use Park and Ride sites such as Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
With 12 weeks to go on 2 November, a custom IDEX stand fits if briefed at least seven weeks before opening. Inside that window, a modular stand needs four weeks; call +971 50 173 8408. The exhibitor manual and the eZone portal hold the drawing, crew and service order deadlines, which Lazulite reads once you book space.
Planning timeline
Pavilion or island, 12 weeks out
Briefing rooms, models and meeting slots agreed
New scale model, 10 weeks out
Cleared drawings released for the Miniature Model
Custom stand, 7 weeks out
Brief closes before the two drawing reviews
Modular stand, 4 weeks out
Last brief, using stock kits and rented screens
ADNEC build-up, days before 25 January
Models placed, room AV tested and crew passes in hand
Enclosed rooms, a lockable store and a model plinth shape most IDEX stands before any graphics go on. Custom builds come from Lazulite's Dubai workshop, modular kits from stock, and Custom Pavilion Building serves country pavilions. Each job covers ADNEC drawings, the drive to Abu Dhabi and take-down after 29 January.
Hall 14 groups CBRNE exhibitors at IDEX, and a 3.0 Transparent OLED Portrait lets them stand screen content in front of real kit. Aerospace stands can seat buyers in a Flight Simulator. Naval stands can map a fleet on a Dynamic LED Table.
Every IDEX visitor arrives with a badge the organiser has approved, so stand check-in starts from it. Interactive Kiosks or badge scans record whether each guest is delegation, procurement or industry, and book meeting room slots so only expected guests enter.
Five show days at IDEX means five days of Lazulite engineers on your stand, 9am to 5pm. They run model lighting, screens and demonstrations, on the marina too.
A closed briefing room lets an IDEX exhibitor discuss procurement with a delegation away from the aisle. Lazulite fits it with a lockable door, frosted glass, sound-absorbing panels and a wall screen, all marked on the drawings ADNEC reviews.
A Miniature Model brings a vessel, aircraft or armoured vehicle onto an IDEX stand at table height. The platform itself stays at the marina or on static display outdoors.
For NAVDEX 2025, exhibitors could berth craft on temporary ADNEC Marina pontoons, and the organiser invited them to host guests aboard visiting naval vessels. A Curved LED Kiosk at the gangway checks guests in and shows the day's water demonstration times.
IDEX promises live-action demonstrations, and NAVDEX ran a daily water programme in 2025, so visitors plan around set times. An indoor LED video wall can count down to your slot and replay real-world simulation footage afterwards.
IDEX stand drawings go to the organiser for approval under its exhibitor manual, and at ADNEC shows the venue reviews them too. Enclosed rooms and tall plinths often draw questions, so Lazulite puts structural notes on those parts of the pack first.
Crew and stand staff passes for IDEX follow the exhibitor documentation, which the organiser has not published. Lazulite registers its build crew as soon as that process opens. Visitor registration is a separate, approval-based route with no on-site sign-up, the organiser's FAQ says.
ADNEC's venue services take the power, rigging and internet orders for an IDEX stand, and Lazulite lists your stand's needs and places them. Capital 360, ADNEC's in-house team, lists rigging among its services. Craft and quayside displays at NAVDEX follow the organiser's marina arrangements.
Expected IDEX delegations, their size and any NAVDEX berth decide the room plan and model list Lazulite sends back first.
Room walls, ceilings and plinth heights go into the IDEX drawing pack at scale, and Lazulite submits it once the layout is agreed.
Miniature Models for IDEX are made, lit and paired with their screen content before the stand leaves Dubai for Abu Dhabi.
Lazulite's crew sets the models first at ADNEC, then tests the briefing room AV before doors open at 9am on 25 January.
After IDEX closes on 29 January, the stand comes down, models go into crates and the delegation records go to your team.
Briefing rooms decide most IDEX budgets, because an enclosed room takes floor that a compact stand cannot spare. Delegation stands therefore usually start in the standard band. Typical build rates for an IDEX stand, per square metre, are AED 1,000 to 2,000 modular and AED 1,500 to 3,500 custom.
Every ADNEC order Lazulite places for your power, rigging and internet appears as its own line in the IDEX quote, beside build, technology and crew. Floor space is billed separately by the organiser, booked through Enquire To Exhibit on idexuae.ae.
One closed briefing room, booked in slots, can serve every delegation on an IDEX stand. An indoor LED video wall typically rents for AED 300 to 650 a day for each square metre, over five IDEX days.
Budget bands
Compact
A modular IDEX stand of about 12 square metres with a lockable store, typically AED 30,000 to 70,000
Standard
A delegation stand of about 36 square metres with one closed briefing room, typically AED 80,000 to 200,000
Flagship
A national pavilion or island near 100 square metres with two briefing rooms, typically AED 300,000 to 650,000
Ranges checked: November 2026
Pricing note: These ranges are indicative, for planning only. Your final quote depends on your requirements, stand size, show duration and the resources your stand needs. They exclude organiser space, venue charges for power, rigging and internet, and VAT.
Rent vs custom
Rent
Stock screens and kiosks for a four-week brief
Custom build
Briefing rooms and models drawn for ADNEC review
ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, home to IDEX, is where Lazulite built Touch & Throw for ADAFZ and ADNEC Capital 360 at MIITE 2026. Its crew knows the halls and the in-house services.
Over five IDEX days, some delegation visits will move. One Dubai workshop makes the stand, the Miniature Model and the screen content, so a model change and its content move together. A moved visit moves the meeting room booking with it.
Everything modelled or filmed for an IDEX stand comes from files your team has released in writing for display. Lazulite returns or deletes those files after the 29 January close.
Trusted by
Saudi Arabia's defence show, organised by GAMI, returns to Riyadh in January 2028.
Aerospace and defence aviation at the DWC Dubai Airshow Site, from 15 to 19 November 2027.
Dubai World Trade Centre hosts this security, safety and fire event from 12 to 14 January 2027, two weeks before IDEX.
Can't find your answer? Speak with our Dubai team.
No. IDEX and NAVDEX 2027 run from 25 to 29 January 2027, according to idexuae.ae and navdex.ae, after a February edition in 2025. An ADNEC Group release from February 2025 gave 21 to 25 January. Plan freight, build-up and crew passes for the days before Monday 25 January.
Let's build it together
The first IDEX decision is how many delegations your stand will host, and whether NAVDEX needs a berth. Share both, and Lazulite's Dubai team returns a first concept with a cost range; the quote is fixed once you approve the design. A custom build needs seven weeks before 25 January, so call +971 50 173 8408 now.
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