DIMDEX 2026 — Qatari defense firm Barzan Holdings showed up in a big way at this year’s DIMDEX expo, talking to Breaking Defense about its new business strategy and unveiling a range of new partnerships and platforms.
In 2022 company execs said the firm was focused on investing in small companies outside the region. Then, in 2024, executives told Breaking Defense it was going to focus on the investments it had already made as opposed to adding more.
Now, Barzan Chief Commercial Officer Omar Al Qadi said the aim going forward will be more on its work inside Qatar, but still exporting its products internationally.
“We’re focused much more on what is made in Qatar, things that we’ve developed and produced here locally and enhanced in-country, and maybe are less focusing on all of our [international] investments,” Al Qadi told Breaking Defense Wednesday.
When asked what localization looks like for Barzan, Al Qadi said, “It really depends. It’s a more of a case-to-case approach based on the project we’re working on. It can be an acquisition of a strategic asset, but it could be also acquisition of services and support, or consultancy agreements.
“What’s very important to us is to ensure that, if there are any larger acquisitions or programs that we’re working on with our local customers, we make sure that we can localize wherever we see it feasible,” he added.
Despite putting less focus on investments, Al Qadi said the company is keeping its investments with UK-based aircraft developer firm Aeralis and other international firms active.
Announcements From The Show
As part of this new business focus Barzan made a slew of announcements at DIMDEX, including four agreements with the Qatari armed forces valued at a total of 3.3 billion QAR (902.96 million USD), though few details about the deals were made available.
“As we announced, we are signing a major contract [with armed] forces in Qatar to deliver key products and also services and support and MRO — maintenance, repair and overhaul — ensuring that they get the best possible capabilities from us as Barzan and the partners that we work with in terms of investments,” Al Qadi told Breaking Defense.
Despite the overall more inward focus, Barzan also inked an international deal with Turkish shipyard TAIS to equip the Indonesian armed forces with two frigates worth $1 billion.
“[This] is a program that we’re working very closely with our Indonesian partners [on]. They have their needs that we are very aware about,” he said of the deal. “We have a big team in Indonesia that is currently working on the ground with the team there and the end user there to ensure that they get the best capabilities that they desire.”
Al Qadi didn’t specify Barzan’s role in the agreement. Representatives from TAIS Shipyard declined to comment on the deal.
Barzan is looking to “expand [its exports] internationally more and more over the coming months and over the coming years.” Possible export markets for the company include Asia, South and North America and Europe, the company’s official told Breaking Defense.
Barzan’s Latest Platforms
In addition to agreements with the armed forces and international companies, Barzan unveiled some of its own platforms.
On day one of the show, Barzan unveiled what it calls the “Barzan USV” which is “completely made in Qatar,” Barzan Chief Technology Officer Ahmed Ali Al Kuwari told Breaking Defense.
The company said the USV can perform both intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance and combat missions, and is equipped with a 12.7 mm remote weapon station.
Also unveiled at DIMDEX is the power behind the USV: Barzan’s NATO-compliant command and control (C2) center.
“Our C2 solution is indigenously developed. We have had more than 50-plus engineers write about 250,000 lines of code to develop the software that sits at the core of all of our solutions,” Al Kuwari said, noting that the C2 platform enables operators to have a common operational picture across a multi domain operational environment.
“We have designed it to be modular and interoperable with other systems, and we’re very excited to have it also deployed within our end users facility in many areas,” Al Kuwari told Breaking Defense.
Additionally, Barzan showed off its land-based counter-drone solution developed with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri.
“This is [an] ISO [International Organization for Standardization] 40-foot container where we have the Omega 360 radar that’s able to pick targets from more than 12 kilometers [specifically] Group One and Group Two drones,” Al Kuwari said, referring to smaller unmanned aerial systems.