The spokesperson for the Jordan Design and Development Bureau (JODDB), Head of Sales and Business Strategy Department, Ratib Abu Al-Ragheb, announced a Jordanian-British partnership to hold a conference and exhibition for counter-drone technology, the first of its kind in the region, through a partnership between JODDB and UK's SAE Media Group in July 2025.

Abu Al-Ragheb said that the conference was held in two countries, the United States of America and the UK, and will be held for the first time in the Middle East in Jordan under the patronage and support of the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) - Arab Army, and the JODDB.

He explained that the timing of this significant event corresponds with the current challenges posed by drones and the growing prominence of counter-drone technology, and underscores JODDB’s ambition in creating significant and cutting-edge systems in this area, Petra news agency reported.

“We, in JODDB, seek to be leaders in organizing such events and highlighting the development in the Kingdom with this technology and the development in the defense and technological industries in general,” he added, pointing out that such events contribute effectively to economic, tourism, and investment development.

Abu Al-Ragheb further said that the conference will discuss all existing challenges, given the great acceleration in technology and challenges, and the emergence of new types of wars such as hybrid warfare, sixth wars and cyber warfare, due to the presence of drones that have changed the nature of these wars.

“We seek through the establishment of this exhibition to gather decision makers, experts, specialists, and manufacturers in one place to discuss solutions to these challenges and increase awareness and ready capabilities to face them, and we will invite a number of countries from Africa and the Middle East to give more momentum to the conference and allow exhibitors to showcase their products and the latest technology in this field,” he explained.

Jack O’Farrell, Head of Production - Defense, SAE Media Group, said: “We are delighted to be here at SOFEX 2024 to announce our collaboration with JODDB to organize the first counter-drone technology conference focused on the Middle East and Africa in Amman next July.”

“I would like to express my deep gratitude to JODDB for organizing the first counter-drone technology focused on the Middle East and Africa,” he added.

“I would like to express our deepest gratitude from everyone at SAE Media Group and the entire JODDB team for their invitation to SOFEX 2024 and their collaboration on this important topic.”

“With the growing importance of counter-drone technology in the Middle East and Africa, SAE Media Group is proud to bring our extensive experience in producing leading global counter-drone conferences to Jordan next year,” O’Farrell added.

He pointed out that “the group currently organizes 4 counter-drone conferences in London, UK and Arlington, Virginia, USA, and we are honored to add a fifth event to our portfolio in collaboration with our partners at JODDB.”

Jordan Design and Development Bureau (JODDB) was established by a royal decree in 1999, as an independent military/civilian organization affiliated with the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF). The establishment of the Bureau was one of His Majesty’s, Abdullah II, top priorities upon the assumption of his constitutional powers, in the aim of becoming the Arab defense nucleus in the region.

JODDB distinguishes itself in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region through dedication to applying excellence in design and development, test and evaluation, technology incubation and providing a broad range of products, services and capabilities in various fields, including Land systems, Weapons, Ammunition, Electronics, Electro-optics, Troops gear, Disruptive future technology (AI, VR, Cyber Security, 3D Printing) projects, Ballistics Testing and Training, within a purpose-built free industrial zone, The Industrial Free Zone.

JODDB covers its activities under four main clusters: Land Systems and Industrial Solutions; Troops Gear and Armament Solutions; Smart-Tech Zone; Support & Services.

SAE Media Group (SMG), a subsidiary of SAE International, reports the latest technology breakthroughs and design innovations to a global audience of nearly 1,000,000 engineers, researchers, and business managers.

SAE Media Group Conferences, based in London, connect global communities with focused networking conferences. The Group’s key events focus on Defence and Aerospace, Pharmaceutical and Medical. (Petra; JODDB; SAE Media Group; Photo © JODDB)