Umex and SimTex 2024: Record-breaking turnout expected in Abu Dhabi

Drones exhibition will showcase latest defence and security technology

Organisers are expecting record participation at the Umex and SimTex exhibition in Abu Dhabi on January 23. Photo: Adnec

The latest developments in unmanned systems, robotics and AI technology are expected to attract record participation in the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Simulation and Training Exhibition in Abu Dhabi on January 23.

More than 18,000 attendees are expected at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) for the three-day Umex and SimTex event, along with 214 exhibitors from around the world.

About 35 countries will be represented. Some of those, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Singapore, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Estonia, the Virgin Islands and Czech Republic, are participating for the first time.

The UAE pavilion will be the largest from the participating nations, followed by the Chinese and American pavilions, according to Adnec.

“What you see today is the fruit of efforts implemented over the past 24 months,” said Major General Mubarak Saeed bin Ghafan Al Jabri, chairman of the higher organising committee for Umex and SimTex. The previous exhibition took place in 2022.

General Al Jabri added that the 2024 exhibition will be the biggest and most comprehensive since the event's inception in 2015.

The exhibition is held under the patronage of Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

“There's an unprecedented level of participation,” said Humaid Al Dhaheri, managing director and chief executive of Adnec, at a news conference.

While the Umex/SimTex exhibition begins on January 23, a conference accompanying the event will take place on January 22, under the theme of Unmanned Systems: Ascending to new spaces for emerging technologies and unprecedented impacts.

The conference is expected to address challenges and international issues, as well as the latest developments related to unmanned systems, otherwise known as drones.

Live land and marine demonstrations of unmanned systems will take place at Adnec’s water channel and main platform for the first time in the event's history, according to organisers.

Drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become increasingly common for commercial, military and recreational use in many parts of the world over the past decade.

In 2024 alone, revenue from the unmanned systems industry could hit $4.2 billion, according to Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform.

Unmanned systems are loosely defined as pilotless aircraft which use the latest technologies such as computer vision and artificial intelligence to operate. Variations can include ground or sea vehicles.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed visits the Umex and SimTEX in 2022 - in pictures