WORLD DEFENSE SHOW 2026 — Estonian officials came to Riyadh this week to feel out ways to facilitate bilateral procurement of defense technology with Saudi Arabia, a senior Estonian official told Breaking Defense.
Siim Sukles, undersecretary for Defense Industry & Innovation at the Estonian Ministry of Defense, described early talks as the “the first steps to introduce the agencies to each other to find some kind of common activities. Because when it comes to procurement, it’s a global market.”
He predicted a memorandum of understanding between the each nation’s procurement agencies could follow, though it’s unclear when. The nations, separated by 2,600 miles and more than 60 degrees in temperature in February, last year signed a “general agreement” related to trade and economics, and an MoU in 2024 to expand political consultations.
Sukles spoke to Breaking Defense at the World Defense Show taking place this week outside Riyadh. The Estonian delegation there was led by Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, who told Arab News, “In the modern world, cooperation built on trust and technology is the best defense. […] It is important for us to be here because we clearly see there is a possibility to increase cooperation, not only bilaterally between Saudi Arabia and Estonia, but across the region.”
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) said in a statement that the discussions with the Estonians “align with GAMI’s broader mandate to develop and regulate the military industries sector while strengthening global partnershps.”
“GAMI works to facilitate the investor journey by providing a range of enablers across the military industries sector,” the organization said. “World Defense Show contributes to attracting leading global manufacturers and advanced technologies, supporting the localization of over 50 [percent] of military spending by 2030, in line with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives.”
Sukles said any defense-related MoU with the kingdom would also support the Estonian government’s strategy to ensure 70 percent of its defense business is exported globally. According to Sukles, Estonia aims to export €2 billion ($2.4 billion) in defense materiel by 2030, up from €500 million in 2024 and €750 million in 2025.
He also suggested the agreement could see Estonia reciprocally purchasing equipment from Saudi Arabia.
“I think every country has something that they can sell, but it depends on so many decisions. Right now we are focused on some kind of industrial cooperation, sharing the knowledge and not just selling and buying. The Estonian Defense Forces and defense industry are small,” he conceded, suggesting his attendance at the World Defense Show is to “open the door” to new opportunities.
As for what kind of tech an MoU could cover, Sukles suggested uncrewed and counter-uncrewed solutions as well as cyber and electronics, among others. An MoU could also open up opportunities for Saudi Arabia to access technologies not only employed by the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) but also the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who remain at the tip of the spear when it comes to modern warfare.
Finally, Sukles suggested Saudi Arabian defense companies could also become more aware of Estonian-manufactured capabilities through the attendance of multi-lateral exercises in Europe.
“We have the Spring Storm exercise and I think I heard that some Saudi companies are interested to join to receive some overview about what our defense forces are doing,” he said. Spring Storm is Estonia’s largest military exercise, which is next scheduled to run in May.
According to a Trade Estonia statement made ahead of the World Defense Show, Estonia’s participation reflects a “shared focus with Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region on building sovereign defense capability through long-term partnerships and advanced technology development.”
At the World Defense Show, Estonian companies signed a series of business-to-business MoUs in the wider Middle East region. These included an agreement between Estonia’s Threod Systems and Saudi Arabia’s First Shield to cooperate in “high-technology unmanned aircraft systems for both civilian and military applications.”
For its part, GAMI said “the scale and quality of the partnerships announced during the show reflect growing momentum within the sector and mark a significant step forward in achieving Saudi Vision 2030.”
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