History

INTERNATIONAL DEFENCE EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES EXHIBITION “HEMUS”

"TRADITION, outstanding PERFORMANCE, crisis RESILIENCE "

„An Event where the West and the East match interests“

„А Platform on which the European Union meets its partners“

The biennial specialized International Defence Equipment Exhibition “HEMUS” was established in 1995 with a decision of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria to be held at the International Fair Plovdiv venue.

The Exhibition is held under the patronage of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Bulgaria.

“HEMUS-95” Foundation, the Principal of which is the Ministry of Defence, has undertaken the financing of the Exhibition and the immediate arrangements.

Over the course of its over 29 year existence, the Exhibition has pursued and achieved its main goal - to give an impetus to the development of the Defence Industry, providing the manufacturers and business people a focal point to showcase armaments and combat equipment along with the whole spectrum of defence assets. The Forum creates opportunities for the establishment of joint-venture enterprises, maintenance and repair activities and joint innovative Research & Development projects in the area of defence and security.

Since 2011, the concept of the Exhibition has been expanded and enriched to involve three more perspectives: Defence, Antiterrorism and Security. Special role has been assigned to innovations and research and development promoted by scientific conferences, demonstrations and test firings, presentations of academia and higher educational institutions, etc.

The Fifteenth edition of the International Defence Equipment and Services Exhibition "Hemus 2022" took place from 1-st to 4-th June, 2022 at the Plovdiv International Fair. The Event was held in complex geopolitical and economic conditions. Significant efforts were made by the organizers to ensure not only attractive but also safe venue and conditions for exhibitors and visitors.

Despite the complex situation, ‘’Hemus 2022’’ has achieved significant growth in all trade parameters compared to the previous edition in 2020. In particular, ‘’Hemus 2022’’ has expanded the indoor and especially the outdoor exhibition area to accommodate the increased number of exhibitors. A significant number of new exhibitors from countries new to ‘’Hemus’’ successfully participated in this edition.

On an exhibition area of a total of 4284 sq.m., of which 2039 sq.m. covered and 2245 sq.m. opened, 100 companies and organizations were presented, of which 59 Bulgarian and 41 foreign from 21 countries. Among our esteemed exhibitors, to whom we offered hosting, was once again a Contingent from the US Army, which participated in the Static Display together with Bulgarian military formations. This contingent, as well as the military personnel from the United Kingdom who visited the exhibition, were part of the NATO Multinational Battalion Battlegroup formed on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian Academia continued to show significant interest, as a total of 11 Scientific bodies and Uniwercities, of which 5 military and 6 civilian, took part as exhibitors in "Hemus 2022".

In general, regardless of the complex economic and geopolitical situation in the world, the achieved commercial parameters of "Hemus 2022" exceeded by 10% to 50% what was achieved in the previous edition.

This edition of the exhibition caused widespread interest and visits from a number of representatives of the Bulgarian state institutions, from official delegations and guests of the Minister of Defense, from the diplomatic corps, from representatives of Bulgarian and foreign business and last but not least, from numerous Bulgarian and foreign citizens. On the Bulgarian side, the exhibition was viewed by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, by representatives of the Parliament, by the Minister of Defense, by Deputy Ministers of Defense , of Economy and Industry and of Innovation and Growth, by the Chief of Defense, by the Commanders of Services, Generals and Admirals.

The exhibition was also visited by 18 foreign delegations, guests of the Minister of Defense. Along with the official delegations, ‘’Hemus 2022’’ had visitors from 50 countries from Europe, North and South America, Australia, Africa and Asia. A number of countries were represented by their Defense Attachés in Sofia and other visitors.

The total number of visitors to the exhibition and its accompanying events exceeded 3,000 people, which means that the positive trend of increasing attendance is maintained.

The exhibition and accompanying events were covered by representatives of over 36 Bulgarian and foreign media.

The exposition in practice continues to cover the full cycle of the development of a defiance product or service – education and training, innovation, R&D, production, commercialization, acquisition, lifecycle support and utilization.

The expanded international participation and the strong international, European and Euro-Atlantic interest shown in the exhibition made it a high-level international forum for the realization of interests, both in the business-to-business domain, as well as in the state-to-state and business-to-state domains.

The exhibition was opened by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria and Supreme Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Rumen Radev. The Minister of Defense, Dragomir Zakov, addressed the exhibitors and visitors with a greeting .

Immediately after the opening, according to established tradition, a dynamic display was held, in which a helicopter and airplanes from the Bulgarian Air Force took part.

"Hemus 2022 " has established itself as an extremely successful platform for business meetings of all kinds - g2g, g2b, b2b. Thanks to a previously reworked mechanism, more than 60 business meetings of various types were requested, organized and held, both at the request of the delegations and other visitors, and at the request of the exhibitors themselves.

Regarding the g2g format , all official delegations held business meetings with the leadership of the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense, and many of them - bilaterally.

Traditionally the Exhibition was accompanied by conduction of Live Demonstrations and Static display of armament and equipment of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Interior, Live Firings, International Scientific Conference and Industrial forum.

Again, in the Static Display participated armaments and military personnel from and the European Command of the United States Armed Forces. At which were presented three armored infantry fighting vehicles, as well as a close-in unmanned aerial vehicle.

Participation in the Live Firings took nine companies and organizations.  During the Live Firings have been demonstrated 24 kinds of new defence products of Bulgarian defence industry manufacturers. The Live Firings were broadcast on live on the Exhibition site, on the Information stands’ monitors of in both pavilions.

In the Eleventh International Scientific Conference "Scientific research, technology and innovation - a basis for building new defense capabilities"  attended by over 120 delegates and guests from the country and abroad. For the first time this year, the participation in the International Scientific Conference was held not only in physically, but also remotely. More than 60 scientific reports were presented.

As a new accompanying event within Hemus 2022, the day before the official opening of the exhibition, the first Symposium on Research and Innovation for European Security and Defense - Research and Innovation for European Security and Defense (RISE-SD) was opened. The Symposium was attended by more than 30 speakers on projects funded by the European Union, as well as representatives of EDA, Directorate General for Defense Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), European Commission, NATO Science and Technology Organization (NATO STO) and others. The Symposium was a tribune of more than 100 specialists from various European institutes, scientific and business organizations gathered to exchange experiences and establish lasting and useful direct connections.

A new accompanying event was also the DefInSpace Bulgaria 2022 hackathon competition. DefInSpace Bulgaria 2022 is the first international innovation competition with a focus on the application of space technologies in the field of defense and security. It was initiated by the French Space Command in France ( Commandement de l'Espace ) and was organized by the French aerospace cluster  "Aerospace Valley " in 2021 and by the Office for  Transfer of Aerospace Technologies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Drawing on the accumulated experience and long tradition, relying on established contacts and business relationships with our partners from the EU, NATO and worldwide, recognizing mutual benefits, we look ahead with optimism to the next International Defence Equipment Exhibition “HEMUS 2024”.

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU AT “HEMUS 2024”!