Well attended 35th edition of NEDS
More than 3,000 visitors and around 150 exhibitors gathered on Thursday 21 November for the 35th edition of NEDS. At a time when scaling up and accelerating procurement and production is paramount importance, the exhibition was a great opportunity to catch up on the latest developments in the field of the defence and security industry in a single day.
On the busy exhibition floor, opportunities for collaboration were explored between industry, knowledge institutions and the government. For example, the Dutch Ministry of Defence (COMMIT), the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Commissariat Military Production), the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were all present.
International attendance
Although the majority of exhibitors and visitors come from the Netherlands, the international aspect has become an integral part of the event. This year there were 32 exhibitors from outside the Netherlands, and 35 international delegations. The NEDS is increasingly becoming an exhibition where the Dutch defence and security industry can talk to Dutch government representatives and industry leaders as well as foreign industry and government representatives.
Cooperation formally confirmed
Several parties used the day of the exhibition to officially confirm their cooperation by signing an agreement.
For example, the Dutch Ministry of Defence, Signify, Aircision, FSO Instruments, SMART Photonics, Secura, TNO & Brainport Development signed an agreement for research, development and implementation of a Wireless Optical Communication system to achieve an end-to-end concept, both for short and long distances, within spaces (LiFi) and between ground, air, sea and even satellites.
In addition, the Dutch MoD has also signed a contract with Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace for both air and missile defence systems. These are intended for both medium range (Medium Range Air Defence) and short range (Short Range Air Defence).
The Air Force Command (Commando Luchtstrijdkrachten; CLSK) signed an agreement with Skyline Aviation and its subcontractor Top Aces. This signing marks an important step in the cooperation for providing Adversary Air (ADAIR) training services. With this agreement, CLSK secures mission-critical training capabilities that prepare pilots to respond swiftly and effectively to military threats, and thus contribute to the safety of the Netherlands and its allies. CLSK signed a Letter of Intent with Draken for the delivery of ADAIR training services. Both parties thereby express their commitment to work towards a formal agreement.
Optics11 and Thales France signed the contract for the delivery of the towed arrays for the Orka-class submarines. The contract is part of the Industrial Cooperation Agreement (ICA) between Naval Group and the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
Damen Naval and Rondal concluded a contract for the delivery of composite masts and deckhouses for the Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates (ASWF) for the Dutch (2 vessels) and Belgian navies (2 vessels).
L3Harris signed a letter of intent with several parties to strengthen the partnership. Global opportunities are being pursued with Defenture, KPN, ELFA, Surcom, and Robin Radar Systems.
Thales signed a VNIS contract for the mid-life upgrade of the CV90 and Fennek platforms, which includes 9 new platform types, with the aim of equipping these platforms with the latest SOTAS configurations, one of Thales’ most important radio communication products.
Launch of Cloud platform
IBM Hermes was launched at NEDS. The first and only cloud platform to collaborate on a Special Assignment with TBB4 data for the Ministry of Defence. The documents being worked on are stored safely and compliantly in the IBM Hermes environment. The number of users can be scaled up indefinitely, as can the number of Special Assignments being worked on. IBM Hermes is ABDO 2019 compliant.
Successful
The aim of the NEDS is to bring together government, industry and knowledge institutions in order to position the Dutch industry well in the Netherlands and internationally. Given the number of people on the exhibition floor, the number of international exhibitors and visitors, and the high level of participation in the matchmaking the day before, we can conclude that we have succeeded. Now it is important to give a good and concrete follow-up to the intentions made.
Thank you to all exhibitors, COMMIT, CMP, RVO and of course the visitors for your presence!
We look forward to seeing you at the next edition of the NEDS on 20 November 2025.
