In January 2016, the Kuwait parliament unanimously approved a government request for an additional US$10 billion to fund weapons purchases for the military over the next 10 years.
Defense Minister Sheikh Khaled Jarrah Al-Sabah said the money, which is to be placed in a special fund outside the budget, would be used to fund new defense materiel acquisitions.
The fourth edition of the Gulf Defense & Aerospace (GDA) exhibition due to take place in Kuwait in December 2017 will address the needs of this large and growing market.
The third edition of this exhibition was held from December 8-10, 2015 and was officially opened by Sheikh Abdullah Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Kuwait Armed Forces, together with Major General Lafi Al Aazmi who is the chief of KMOD materiel acquisitions. The exhibition was visited by more than 2,000 uniformed members of the active Kuwait Ministry of Defense, together with high level delegations of the Kuwait National Guard and the Kuwait Ministry of Interior.
Worldwide industry leaders exhibited at GDA 2015, including: Lockheed Martin, The Boeing Company, General Dynamics Land Systems, Raytheon Company, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, CAE, Textron Systems Corporation, Renault Defense Trucks, BAE Systems, Eurofighter GmbH, Kongsberg Defense, Thales, MBDA, Fr. Lürssen Werft GmbH & Co. KG., Damen Shipyards, DCNS, Abu Dhabi Shipbuilding, Atlas Elektronic GmbH, United States Marine, Inc. and many others.
