XPONENTIAL Düsseldorf: How ethical are defense trade fairs?

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The topic was taboo for decades: The decision to address the field of defense applications at XPONENTIAL Europe received broad support from the autonomous and unmanned technology sector, our supervisory board, and the political sphere. At the same time, there was public debate about whether and how defense belonged at the trade fair. Wolfram N. Diener has a clear position on this.

by Wolfram N. Diener* || March 23, 2026

Just a year ago, we faced a pivotal decision: We, Messe Düsseldorf, opened XPONENTIAL Europe to the defense sector – and the Supervisory Board approved it by a large majority.

It was all still theoretical, as the focus of the inaugural edition of Europe's leading trade fair for autonomous and unmanned systems in 2025 was primarily on civilian applications. Defense was not a designated component of the fair and was neither reflected in its structure nor explicitly included in the program.

In my article “Why We Need to Talk Differently About Defense,” I explained our motivations at the time. And together with our partners, we have worked intensively on further developing the trade fair. As XPONENTIAL Europe 2026 approaches, public attention is growing. At the same time, the security situation has become even more critical – the war in Ukraine continues, and a new war has broken out in the Middle East.

On the one hand, it is becoming increasingly clear that we cannot close our eyes to the reality of war, that security and defense, long neglected in Europe, are now once again serious issues. On the other hand, we are also being confronted with the horrors of war. This makes the following questions all the more important: How do we, as a society, deal with this? And how do we, as Messe Düsseldorf, deal with this?

The defense industry is undergoing a profound technological transformation and therefore requires platforms for exchange and know-how transfer.

Since our decision just over a year ago, we have been intensively engaged with this issue. The fundamental facts have always been undisputed for us: The defense industry is undergoing a profound technological transformation – driven by unmanned and autonomous systems, robotics, AI, and cybersecurity – and therefore requires platforms for exchange and knowledge transfer. And more than ever, it is also true that unmanned and autonomous systems are very often dual-use technologies today – meaning they can be used for both civilian and defense purposes. While a separate consideration may be possible, it is not productive.

Exercise influence and set the framework

From the outset, we were determined not to retreat to the position of mere networker and platform provider. That would not do justice to our mission – and would ultimately amount to nothing more than the stance of a social media platform shirking its responsibility for content.

Unlike a social media platform, we consciously influence the "content" of our events. We set the framework. For example, we consistently derive the integration of the defense application area from the profile of XPONENTIAL Europe and very consciously assume responsibility – starting with the fact that we integrate the highly relevant topic of defense into the trade fair.

Defense-related topics are categorized, discussed and reflected upon at XPONENTIAL Europe.

Crucially, the approach is also key: An interdisciplinary advisory board comprised of representatives from academia, industry, associations, and institutions supports us in the technical classification and quality assurance. Defense-related topics are contextualized, discussed, and reflected upon at XPONENTIAL Europe. The comprehensive conference program is particularly noteworthy, featuring keynote speeches on European security architecture, sovereignty, dual-use technologies, and international cooperation.

A year ago, we could have chosen to leave XPONENTIAL Europe unchanged. However, such a step would have ignored the reality of technological and geopolitical developments. Exhibitors and visitors would certainly have criticized us, seeing it as an artificial curtailment of the technology trade fair. It would also have harmed Düsseldorf as a business location. With the expanded XPONENTIAL Europe, we are sharpening Düsseldorf's profile: as a responsible, transparent location for analysis and dialogue during this period of transformation.

The feedback from industry and politics speaks for itself: The number of exhibiting companies and institutions has almost doubled compared to last year, reaching 360. The political presence is also high-ranking, ranging from the patronage of Federal Minister of Transport Patrick Schnieder and the strategic partnership with the German Armed Forces to numerous visits at the highest level: for example, from Sergiy Boyev, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine; Mona Neubaur, Minister of Economic Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia; Nathanael Liminski, Minister for European Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia; Andrew Mitchell CMG, British Ambassador; and Christoph Heusgen, who until a year ago chaired the Munich Security Conference.

A year ago, I titled my post "Why we need to talk differently about defense." Today, I would rephrase that headline as "Why we need to talk about defense."

The reason: I see XPONENTIAL Europe not only as a platform for producers and users, for business development and technical discourse. Rather, it should also be an invitation to a societal dialogue about defense in general. Because this is better than any polarization.

Images: XPONENTIAL Europe 2025. Photo: Messe Düsseldorf/Constanze Tillmann

*Wolfram N. Diener is President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf Group.