From 8 to 10 April in Zagreb, Croatia, the international exhibition ASDA 2025 (Adriatic Sea Defence & Aerospace) took place – the largest exhibition of military equipment and armaments in this region.
Croatia is looking to modernise its armed forces, having previously stated that by 2027 the state plans to increase its defence budget to 2.5% of GDP, up from the current 2%, and by 2030 plans to reach 3% of the country’s total GDP.
As part of this strategy, Croatia is actively buying modern weapons, including howitzers and fighter jets, and developing its own defence industrial complex. But it is too early to talk about its grandiose development and powerful potential.
ASDA 2025 has become an important defence event, giving local manufacturers an opportunity to showcase their achievements to an international audience.
The exhibition gathered about 200 participants from 28 countries. Among the participants there were representatives of France, Turkey and other countries, but the majority were local producers.
Of course, this exhibition is far from the scale of such international exhibitions as Eurosatory in Paris or IDEX in London. Nevertheless, it was interesting for the AKM Group-CZ team to get acquainted with the representatives of the regional defence sector in more detail, to study the offers of local manufacturers and to get a general idea of the defence market in the Adriatic region..
In general, AKM Group-CZ was satisfied with the event. As planned, we managed to familiarise ourselves with current trends in the regional market and strengthen business ties.
During ASDA 2025 we held a series of successful negotiations and are considering further co-operation with some manufacturers.
