Hannover Messe will introduce a dedicated Defence Production Area at its 2026 fair, creating a new platform for companies supplying advanced manufacturing technologies to the defence and security sector.
The organisers said the new format, located in Hall 26, is designed to showcase equipment, systems, and components used in the production of security-relevant goods, and to help industry scale up manufacturing capacity rapidly, efficiently, and with strengthened security requirements.
Dr Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Managing Board of Deutsche Messe, said artificial intelligence, digitalisation, and automation were reshaping industrial production, adding that the new area would give defence and security visitors “a central location to learn about solutions for scaling their production safely, and efficiently”.
The exhibition will cover automation, additive manufacturing, digital tools, and new materials, reflecting the full industrial value chain. Exhibitors and visitors will be positioned close to neighbouring areas focused on robotics, logistics, IT/OT security, IIoT, and wireless and cloud technologies, which the organisers say will create useful synergies.
The initiative is supported by Defence & Security Equipment International Germany, which will hold its own inaugural event at the Hannover Exhibition Center in March 2027.
Hannover Messe, regarded as one of the world’s largest trade fairs for the manufacturing industry, hosts more than 4,000 companies from electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, digital industries, and the energy sector. Artificial intelligence features across all main exhibition areas, which include Automation & Digitalisation, Energy & Industrial Infrastructure, and Research & Technology Transfer. The next edition takes place in Hannover from 20th to 24th April 2026, with Brazil as the partner country.
