The future of Africa’s defence industry will come under the spotlight during Day Two of the African Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2026 Conference, taking place from 16 to 18 September 2026 at Air Force Base Waterkloof.
Held alongside Africa’s premier aerospace and defence exhibition, the AAD 2026 Conference will bring together senior military leaders, policymakers, defence manufacturers, analysts, and industry stakeholders to explore the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the continent’s evolving defence landscape.
Day Two of the conference, titled African Defence Industry Showcase, will focus specifically on highlighting the strength, innovation, and partnership potential of Africa’s defence industry across the land, sea, and air domains.
As global conflicts and geopolitical instability continue to disrupt supply chains and reshape defence priorities, increasing attention is being placed on the importance of sovereign capability, localisation, and industrial resilience. Recent events — including the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and renewed instability in the Middle East — have reinforced the strategic importance of countries being able to manufacture, maintain, and sustain their own defence capabilities.
For African nations, many of which remain heavily dependent on imported military equipment and foreign supply chains, these developments have intensified discussions around building stronger and more sustainable domestic defence-industrial capabilities.
“The AAD 2026 Conference has been designed to address some of the most pressing strategic and industrial challenges facing the continent,” said Nakedi Phasha, Exhibition Director for AAD. “Day Two will provide a dedicated platform for military leaders, policymakers, and industry to engage on the future of Africa’s defence industry, localisation, supply chain resilience, and the practical steps needed to strengthen sovereign capability.”
The conference programme will explore how African countries can move beyond procurement-driven defence models towards more sustainable industrial ecosystems capable of supporting local manufacturing, maintenance, innovation, skills development, and export growth.
Sessions are expected to examine a wide range of topics, including:
- Defence-industrial financing and investment models
- Public-private partnerships
- Supply chain resilience and localisation
- Maintenance, repair, and overhaul capability
- Munitions and small arms production
- Export development and regional competitiveness
- Technology transfer and industrial partnerships
- The role of African defence industries in supporting operational readiness
Discussions will also examine the operational realities facing African armed forces, particularly the growing challenge posed by non-state actors using low-cost drones, improvised systems, and asymmetric tactics. Increasingly, military effectiveness is being shaped not only by what equipment is acquired, but by whether it can be sustained, repaired, and adapted locally over time.
Several African countries are already making significant progress in this regard. South Africa continues to maintain the continent’s most advanced defence-industrial capability, while countries such as Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Namibia, and Rwanda are all investing in local defence manufacturing and industrial expansion.
Beyond the conference itself, AAD 2026 will feature a major aerospace and defence exhibition and airshow, with more than 200 exhibitors from over 30 countries expected to participate. Delegates will have the opportunity to engage directly with leading defence technologies, manufacturers, military representatives, and decision-makers from across the continent and beyond.
