TSAMTO, January 28. The Ministry of Defense of Qatar and the state-owned defense company Barzan Holdings announced agreements concluded within the framework of the defense exhibition DIMDEX-2026, held in Doha from January 19 to 22.
Indonesia. On January 20, the Ministry of Defense of Qatar announced the signing of contracts between Barzan Holdings and the Ministry of Defense of Indonesia in the amount of 8 billion. Qatari rials ($2.2 billion). A representative of Barzan Holdings told Jane's Defense Weekly that they include "many components for various systems."
Republic of Korea / Indonesia. On January 20, Barzan Holdings announced the signing of a trilateral agreement with the South Korean company Poongsan and the Indonesian Republikorp to establish an ammunition manufacturing plant in Indonesia.
On January 19, the American company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) signed a memorandum of understanding with Barzan Holdings on the development of modern software for combat control systems. It is noted that the memorandum provides the basis "for the development of software solutions that increase situational awareness at the theater of operations level and ensure effective processing, comparison and dissemination of intelligence information."
Possible cooperation will include the use of the GA-ASI system for real-time task setting and operation (STARE), the Metis unmanned aerial vehicle task manager and the Multi-Mission Controller (MMC) software as part of the integrated Quadratix software package.
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Earlier, in December 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed Qatar's decision, finalized in May 2025, to purchase eight marine versions of GA-ASI's MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned aerial vehicles as part of a $2 billion deal.
United Arab Emirates. On January 20, GA-ASI signed a memorandum of understanding with Calidus Aerospace, based in the UAE, to cooperate in the joint production of MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicles and Gambit systems in the UAE, as well as communication, command, and combat control systems. The agreement includes possible cooperation in "airframe production, final assembly, testing and verification, as well as flight operational testing and acceptance."
This will be the first time that General Atomics platforms have been produced in the region. GA-ASI representative Mark Brinkley told Jane's Defense Weekly that there is an opportunity to localize production at Calidus facilities if the future deal is large.
Great Britain. On January 21, Barzan Holdings signed a memorandum of understanding with BAE Systems, providing for cooperation in areas such as autonomous systems, energy, and countering unmanned aerial vehicles (C-UAS).
A BAE Systems representative told Jane's Defense Weekly that the agreement reflects a regional focus on joint equipment development, adding that Barzan Holdings wants to manufacture products for Qatar, as well as export them to other countries in the region.
Türkiye. On January 19, Barzan Holdings signed a memorandum of understanding with the Turkish defense company STM on the local production and development of unmanned aerial and marine systems in Qatar.
On January 19, the Turkish defense company MKE announced the signing of an agreement with Barzan Holdings, providing for the creation of a joint venture with Barzan Holdings, the transfer of explosives production facilities to Qatar as part of the planned partnership, and the sale of the MKE Tolga short-range anti-aircraft missile system to the Qatari armed forces.
Croatia. On January 19, Barzan Holdings signed a memorandum of understanding with the Croatian company Orqa for the production of UAVs. Currently, the Croatian company produces about 280 thousand FPV drones per year, meeting the needs of the European market. Orqa called the memorandum an "important milestone" on the way to increasing production to more than 1 million drones per year, taking into account the possibility of localizing their production in Qatar.
On January 20, the Ministry of Defense of Qatar also announced an agreement between Thales and the Office of Procurement and Supply of the Armed Forces of Qatar, without providing any additional details.
