UMEX Abu Dhabi at a glance
UMEX (the Unmanned Systems Exhibition), held alongside SimTEX (the Simulation and Training Exhibition), is the Middle East's only dedicated platform for unmanned and autonomous systems, organised by ADNEC Group in collaboration with the UAE Ministry of Defence at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi. UMEX runs biennially: the seventh and largest edition took place 20–22 January 2026, with the International Defence Conference the day before, and the next edition follows in 2028 — there is no 2027 edition.
The show is structured into Defence and Commercial zones, spanning unmanned aerial, ground, surface and underwater vehicles (UAVs, UGVs, USVs, UUVs), counter-UAS systems, AI and robotics, ISR platforms and simulation and training. Its recent edition drew 387-plus exhibitors from 39 countries across 40,000 square metres, with military officials, government bodies, investors and commercial operators in attendance.
UMEX is in Abu Dhabi, not Dubai, and a defence and technology stand here carries particular requirements around secure display, demonstration and high-level meetings. SOL Dubai builds across the UAE, including Abu Dhabi, handling ADNEC approvals, cross-emirate logistics and on-site installation as one coordinated service.
What a UMEX stand has to do
This is a high-stakes, technology-led show where exhibitors present advanced unmanned and autonomous systems to military, government and commercial decision-makers. The stand has to display often sophisticated, high-value hardware impressively and securely, support technical demonstration, and provide private, secure space for the high-level meetings that define defence and government business.
Credibility and security are paramount. Buyers here make significant, sometimes classified, procurement decisions, and the stand has to project the seriousness and capability of a defence-grade supplier while protecting sensitive displays and conversations. The strongest UMEX stands combine impressive, secure hardware display with private meeting and briefing space. We design for both the showcase and the confidential conversation.
Our UMEX stand build process
High-value, secure-display stands leave no room for improvisation, so every project runs through our structured eight-stage process:
- Discovery and brief — we map your hardware, its display, power and security needs, demonstration ambitions, private-meeting requirements and budget, and confirm hall, stand number and dimensions at ADNEC.
- Concept and 3D design — photorealistic visuals showing secure hardware display, demonstration zones, private meeting and briefing space and visitor flow.
- Costing and approval — a fixed, fully itemised quotation covering structure, AV, security features and cross-emirate logistics.
- Venue approvals and technical drawings — structural, electrical and rigging submissions prepared for ADNEC approval.
- Fabrication — display platforms, secure and private areas, structure and branding built and quality-checked under our control.
- Pre-build and QA — trial assembly, AV and lighting integration and testing before transport.
- On-site installation — supervised build at ADNEC during official build-up, coordinated with hardware delivery, handed over show-ready.
- Show-day support and dismantling — standby team on call in Abu Dhabi, then clean dismantling and clearance.
Materials and construction
Defence and unmanned-systems stands combine impressive display with security and engineering. We build load-bearing platforms engineered for the weight of UAVs, ground vehicles and hardware, with dramatic, focused lighting that presents high-value systems at their best; secure and lockable display and storage for sensitive equipment; and private meeting and briefing rooms with the visual and acoustic separation high-level conversations require.
Engineered structures provide height, presence and hanging points for aerial systems where needed. Large-format screens and AV present capability and ISR data, raised platform flooring conceals substantial power and cabling, and a precise, premium finish projects defence-grade credibility throughout.
Defence and unmanned-systems stand requirements
UMEX exhibitors carry distinctive needs: secure, impressive display of high-value hardware including aerial, ground, surface and underwater systems; engineered platforms and rigging for that hardware; private, secure meeting and briefing space for high-level government and military conversations; and dramatic presentation that signals defence-grade capability. Demonstration zones and AV to present ISR and autonomous capability are often required.
We design for all of it — engineered and secure hardware display, lockable storage, private briefing rooms, dramatic lighting and capability AV — and we manage the ADNEC approval and cross-emirate logistics an Abu Dhabi build requires. Our focus is entirely on the stand, its display and its security — the physical platform for your systems and conversations, never the systems themselves.
Stand options and pricing
We build every UMEX format. Compact stands give smaller suppliers a secure, professional hardware display and a meeting point. Custom single-storey stands give a bespoke layout with engineered display platforms, demonstration zones and private meeting and briefing rooms. Larger pavilion and double-decker stands suit major defence and technology primes wanting extensive hardware display, secure briefing suites and an upstairs hospitality or meeting floor.
Custom UMEX stand design and build starts from AED 1,650 per square metre, with the final figure shaped by the scale and security of hardware display, engineered platforms and rigging, private briefing space, AV, cross-emirate logistics and branding. Every quotation is fixed and itemised, and full-service delivery gives you one accountable team handling design, build and the Abu Dhabi logistics from concept through dismantling.
Why defence and technology brands choose SOL Dubai for Abu Dhabi
We are a UAE exhibition stand builder that designs and builds across the Emirates, including Abu Dhabi, handling ADNEC stands start to finish — design, fabrication, the venue approval process, cross-emirate logistics and on-site installation. Secure, hardware-led stands with private briefing space and engineered display are exactly the kind of work our in-house team is set up for.
Clients get in-house build quality, a single accountable team, discretion, and a price that holds from quotation to final invoice. For defence, unmanned-systems and autonomous-technology brands presenting at the region's only dedicated show, our local presence and full-service control keep a high-stakes, security-conscious build predictable and on budget.
