Ret Air Vice Marshal Gary Waterfall discusses DSEI 2025's key theme - preparing the future force.

European politicians are trying to understand the security environment they now find themselves in amid the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Hamas attacks on Israel and subsequent war, and China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific. A matter complicated by the evolving domestic situation in the US, which is no doubt a cause for uncertainty.

One thing is for certain, the defence industrial base in Europe must be rebuilt, and the armed forces re-equipped and prepared to face a new level of threat. This will come at a cost; it is not enough to buy mine resistant vehicles and precision munitions as was the case during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, where many countries were able to make their existing equipment work with relatively minimal uplift. Now, missiles like the Northrop Grumman AARGM-ER and MBDA’s SPEAR-3 are the focus, alongside additional F-35 procurements, new naval strike capabilities such as Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile, and wholesale recapitalisation of armoured vehicle fleets.

In this context, defence shows and exhibitions are taking on a new level of importance. The establishment of a new exhibition – DSEI Germany – reflects this need, with the inaugural event held in February 2027. And so, as 2025 gets into full swing, Calibre meets with Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Gary Waterfall CBE, DSEI UK senior military advisor for the air domain, to learn more about what role the exhibition plays in supporting defence and security in Europe and beyond.

Preparing the future force

“We’re in the midst of a technological revolution where technologies advance so quickly...and where many are now developed outside of defence”, Waterfall explained, setting out the key context defining DSEI this year.

At the same time, “there are rising global tensions, without a doubt, look at what’s going on in Europe and the Middle East. There isn’t a week that goes by without some kind of nefarious activity in the water, with undersea cables being impacted”, he said, referring to a spate of incidents with undersea cables that had been cut or damaged in Europe and the Strait of Taiwan.

There are certainly a range of challenges facing the UK and Europe’s defence industry as we come into this year’s DSEI. It is also a complex year for the UK, at the time of writing, industry is awaiting the Labour government’s Strategic Defence Review, which will set the goal for the country’s armed forces over the next five years, as well as clarify the country’s procurement priorities.

The review should be published ahead of DSEI 2025 in September, providing exhibitors some clarity on the government’s position and its priorities. In any case, the theme of preparing the future force to face the various challenges discussed by Waterfall will be valid as the UK has donated or retired many of its conventional war-fighting capabilities.

“We work with the government and Strategic Command to set the theme for the event and the topics of conversation that drive the keynote speeches,” Waterfall said, explaining how DSEI is designed to complement the priorities of the British armed forces, while also supporting export opportunities.

“We have set sub-themes too, including securing advantage: “How can defence enhance its agility through acquisition reform? We have been through several wars of choice or discretionary wars, where a country could contribute to a conflict depending on what it can afford. Things have changed now, and we have to be prepared for war in the next five years. We need a supply chain that can scale and turn itself up or down as needed,” Waterfall said.

Gold dust

From a reporter’s perspective, a defence exhibition is mostly about finding and reporting on the latest news. Most will know in advance which companies they will try to see and the stories that they will try to cover. Some will find business opportunities, but few defence journalists cross from the world of reporting into the world of business development. The same is of course not true for defence companies. For manufacturers and research organisations, DSEI provides a potentially powerful convening opportunity,

“I was talking to a friend at the last DSEI, he was saying; ‘this is just gold dust, everyone in the ecosystem is here. I have more meetings in a few days than I ever could in six months in my office.’ And I think that is really key - the bilateral, trilateral engagements are very valuable, as is having the footfall that enables people to convene,” Waterfall said, referring to the value that some have taken away from the event.

This is one of the core aspects of DSEI, it provides a convening opportunity to bring different companies together to collaborate and strengthen their capabilities. A lot of Russian defence development, for example, appears hierarchical with design bureaus acting as gatekeepers for the industry, restricting innovation. In the West, however, large partnerships such as those between Anduril and Open AI, or Helsing and Mistral AI, bring the best capabilities in AI into defence through partnerships. Exhibitions also provide ministries of defence the opportunity to view many of the companies that might be able to address their needs.

“We need SMEs, their hobby and passion are key. They might have the answers we need, and giving them the space to meet these organisations and get them in front of the right people and get to contract is so important,” Waterfall explained. “It’s a key part of the British MoD’s agenda, and to support that we have the person leading SME liaison working with Clarion to ensure that they [SMEs] can get the best engagement with the MoD.”

This type of engagement can mean the difference between success and failure for an SME, which may be operating with a limited cash flow and dependent upon MoD support to keep their business alive. “The gold standard is that SMEs pitch up and pay for a stand, but space is fast filling up, so we are looking at what can be done to help them. For instance, we are arranging meeting opportunities and digital meeting opportunities, and at least facilitating the entry of SMEs to the exhibition so that they can get time with other companies and stakeholders,” Waterfall added. 

Fresh shoe leather

This year’s DSEI will include a Tech Zone, replacing the Future Tech Hub from 2023’s DSEI, which will be home to many of the companies providing new technologies or expertise. These include Amazon Web Services, for the first time, as well as Capgemini, the consultancy company.

“The tech zone will host over 70 companies and we have an extension to the exhibition this year that provides space for additional exhibitors, it’s at least a kilometre from one end to the other now, so you’ll want some fresh shoe leather!” Waterfall explained before adding that, “without that extension, DSEI would have sold out by now.”

“We’ve got 156 new exhibitors coming to the event and 75% of the West’s top-20 manufacturers. Lithuania has even doubled the size of its national pavilion and Luxembourg has a national pavilion for the first time,” he said, pointing to the growth of the exhibition.

This is set to be the largest DSEI, breaking the record previously set in 2023, with an estimated 1,600 exhibitors, and 50,000 visitors.

“But it’s important to reflect on what I said at the start, we live in very troubled times,” Waterfall said, “where external defence beyond your shores and the safety of your own country is no longer discretionary. It is something mandatory, that everybody has to take seriously.”

Calibre comment

While conventional capabilities are coming back to the fore, few countries are able to afford the type of mass that can allow for the kind of attrition absorbed by Russia and Ukraine. This is driving a greater focus on attritable systems with high degrees of autonomy at a much lower price point, as well as more boutique autonomous systems to support air and naval platforms. This trend, which appears to be gathering steam in the West, may mean that the capabilities presented in the Tech Zone are in high demand at this year’s DSEI.