The 17th edition of the IDET international trade fair, which will take place from 24 to 26 May, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Traditionally, the Czech Armed Forces and major companies from the Czech and foreign defence industry have been presenting themselves at this fair. Through the concurrently held PYROS and ISET fairs, individual components of the integrated rescue system are also presented. What we can look forward to at this year's IDET 2023 was presented at yesterday's press conference by the IDET Director Michalis Busios, the President of the Association of Defence and Security Industry of the Czech Republic (DSIA) Jiří Hynek and the Deputy Director of the Capability Planning Section of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic, Colonel Jan Susekár. The partner of the fair is Lockheed Martin.

Picture: What we can look forward to at this year's IDET 2023 was presented at yesterday's press conference by IDET Director Michalis Busios, President of the Association of Defence and Security Industry of the Czech Republic (DSIA) Jiří Hynek and Deputy Director of the Capabilities Planning Section of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic Colonel Jan Susekár. | Jan Zilvar / CZ DEFENCE

Michalis Busios said that this year's edition is of enormous interest not only from the exhibitors but also from the delegations that will appear at the fair. "The exhibition area has been sold out long in advance, so visitors can expect a complete showcase of technologies from the defence and security industry," Busios boasted. A total of 551 companies from 29 countries are participating in this year's security fairs. At the same time, 31 delegations from all over the world have already announced their participation and the number is set to grow. Visitors can therefore meet delegations from Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt, Ghana, Israel, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the UK and other countries at the stands. For example, Agados, Aselsan, BAE Systems, Croy, Czechoslovak Group, Česká zbrojovka, e.sigma, Elbit Systems, EVPÚ Defence, IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries), Lockheed Martin, L.P.P. holding, Nexter Systems, OMNIPOL, PRAGA-Export, Saab Technologies, Holding SKUPINA, STV GROUP or SVOS will present their offer. State-owned companies LOM PRAHA, Military Technical Institute, Military Research Institute and VOP CZ will also be present. The fair will also offer a strong presence of German companies. BDSV, Diehl Defence, Eurospike, Fischer Panda, Glenair, Karodur-Wirkteller, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Mehler Vario System, Nachtsichttechnik Jahnke, Nicomatic, Northrop Grumman LITEF and Sepson will be present. Other exhibitors are from Austria, France, India, Italy, Israel, Japan, Poland, the United States, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Among the interesting venues for dynamic demonstrations will certainly be the IDET ARENA. The fair will also include a specialist programme, including, among others, two major conferences - the International Conference on Military Technology and the International Conference Defence & Strategy.

Michalis Busios, IDET Director, presented other highlights of this year's IDET to CZ DEFENCE. "Apart from the representation of very interesting companies, I would like to mention the theme of the Start-up Innovation Zone, which is actually a showcase of six innovative start-ups that are bringing really unique solutions - for example, their own rocket engine, which should be delivered to the European Space Agency. Another topic is additive technologies, which is simply put 3D printing, which is increasingly being applied to the arms industry. And another interesting topic that responds to the situation in Ukraine is drone protection," said Michalis Busios.

A traditional partner of IDET is the Association of Defence and Security Industry of the Czech Republic, thanks to which a number of start-up and innovative Czech companies will be exhibiting at this year's fair for the second time, as part of the AOBP Start-up Innovation Pavilion. This year there will be six start-ups. A4 Conti, the CzechInvest Business and Investment Support Agency (TECH4LIFE Hub), ATHEX Technology, Grant Detection, OteSpace and SPACEKNOW will present their solutions. According to AOBP President Jiří Hynek, the innovative approaches of Czech companies need to be emphasised. "Innovation is the alpha and omega of keeping up with the world. We not only want to keep up, but we want to be better. Research, development and innovation - without it, the defence industry cannot exist at all," said Jiří Hynek, who also stressed how important the IDET fair is for the Czech defence industry. "We are trying to strengthen the role of the defence industry at home, which IDET absolutely fulfils, and most importantly we are helping our companies to penetrate foreign markets. The presence of foreign delegations and cooperation agreements with our partner organisations contribute to this. IDET is the ideal place to achieve this," DSIA President Jiří Hynek told CZ DEFENCE, who also stressed the importance of cooperation with academia.

Picture: DSIA President Jiří Hynek stressed, among other things, the importance of cooperation with academia | Jan Altner

"We cooperate with universities, after all, CTU, VUT Brno and the University of Defence are members of our association. There is also individual cooperation between individual member companies and universities, either on some development or in personnel issues, where companies try to get the best students to join their ranks. They offer scholarships and cooperation during their studies," added the AOBP president. Successful examples of such cooperation include the live person detection system in a vehicle, which is the result of a collaboration between a group of university students and an investor. This system, as well as other unique solutions, will not be absent at this year's fair.

This year, the Ministry of Defence and the Army of the Czech Republic will present an exhibition thematically focused on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the army. Visitors will be able to see the difference between older and newer equipment and techniques, allowing them to get a better idea of how the army has changed over the past 30 years. Among the exhibits will be the BRDM-2 anti-aircraft vehicle, which was used during the Gulf War, and its modern successor, the IVECO LOV CBRN. Interested visitors will also see the STRELA S2-M and modern RBS-70 NG anti-aircraft complexes, the R-5M Bečva command-and-staff vehicle on a BVP-1 chassis and, opposite it, the TITUS wheeled armoured command-and-staff vehicle.

Picture: The Ministry of Defence and the Army of the Czech Republic will present this year an exhibition thematically focused on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the army. | Veletrhy Brno, a.s.

The outdoor display will feature one of the newest and most watched additions to the army's equipment, the Leopard 2A4 main battle tank, which will be placed next to the T-72 M1 tank. Technological advances will also be shown in the small arms display, where the latest models of BREN II assault rifles, including accessories, and the original Czechoslovak SA vz. 58 will be displayed side by side. The indoor exhibition will also include display cases showing the development of uniforms and equipment accessories of the Czech army over the last 30 years. "In total, we will have approximately 70 exhibits. It is difficult to count, because for example, we count small arms as one exhibit, but there will be ten of them," Colonel Jan Susekár told CZ DEFENCE.

Companies of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) holding and the Tatra Trucks automobile company, which is closely connected with it, are traditional exhibitors at IDET. As in previous years, their joint exhibition will be the largest ever among all exhibiting companies.

Picture: Companies of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) holding and the Tatra Trucks automotive company, which is closely associated with it, are traditional exhibitors at IDET. | Martin Šiška / CZ DEFENCE

Interested visitors will find it in Hall P and in the outdoor area next to the hall. In addition to Tatra Trucks, Tatra Defence Vehicle, Excalibur Army, Retia, Eldis, MSM Group, Karbox, Excalibur International and Czech Air Service will also present their products, services and technological innovations. This year Tatra Trucks will bring to IDET a novelty in the form of a container loader on a Tatra Phoenix chassis with an armoured cab. Tatra will then unveil the next generation of the Tatra Force model range in a world premiere at the concurrent PYROS 2023 trade fair. Another Kopřivnice-based company, Tatra Defence Vehicle, will present the armoured TITUS vehicle in the MKPP version designed for the Czech army. Excalibur Army will exhibit a range of its military vehicles. The CSG stand will display, for example, the Morana and Dita self-propelled howitzers, the new TREVA-30 recovery and recovery vehicle, Patriot 4x4 armoured vehicles, Pandur II 8x8 and the MR-2 Viktor light air defence kit. Retia will present for the first time the new ReCas anti-drone solution with the ReGuard 3D radar.

Picture: New Czech recovery and recovery vehicle TREVA-30 on Tatra Force 8x8 chassis | Michal Pivoňka | CZ DEFENCE

GLOMEX Military Supplies will make the domestic debut of a modified Toyota Hilux Chamois at this year's IDET. It will showcase special military vehicles, the most advanced night vision systems or equipment for paratroopers and special forces personnel. GLOMEX MS (part of the holding SKUPINA a.s.) focuses on the security industry and services and cooperates with Lufthansa Technik, a supplier of interiors for VIP and government aircraft. It also deals with special equipment trade, has exclusive distribution rights of renowned world manufacturers and provides complete after-sales and service services.

As already mentioned, concurrently with the IDET trade fair, the International Fair of Fire Equipment and Services PYROS and the International Fair of Security Equipment and Services ISET are also held, when it is a unique opportunity for the presentation of all components of the Integrated Rescue System. Hall F will host presentations by the Fire and Rescue Service of the Czech Republic, the Police of the Czech Republic, the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic, the State Material Reserves Administration of the Czech Republic, the Prison Service of the Czech Republic and the Brno Municipal Police. Among the exhibiting companies there will be Tatra Trucks, THT Polička or Truck Servis Čáslav. The Czech family-owned company Hraspo in cooperation with MEIKO will present the revolutionary TopClean M technology for reliable cleaning and disinfection of respiratory protection technology at PYROS.