The largest IDET in history has begun, the opening ceremony of three security fairs was attended by President Petr Pavel
May 28, 2025 / 12:54 PM
Delegations from more than 50 countries witnessed a spectacular opening ceremony. The traditional flypast of the Army Squadron and the parade of the Czech Army Honour Guard unit were also present. Speeches were delivered from the podium by dozens of distinguished speakers, including the President of the Czech Republic and three Ministers of Defence - the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Congo.
As has become a tradition, the ceremony began at the stroke of ten o'clock with a flyover of military aircraft. This time, the Czech Army squadron consisted of eight machines, including fresh additions to our Air Force. Two AH-1Z Viper helicopters were the opening aircraft, followed by two UH-1Z Venom helicopters, then two L-410 Turbolet transport aircraft and finally two L-159 combat aircraft.
All present were first welcomed by Jan Kubata, Director General of BVV Trade Fairs Brno. He recalled the exceptional parameters of this year's edition: the trio of IDET, PYROS and ISET trade fairs is attended by 650 exhibiting companies from 34 countries and 52 official foreign delegations came to see the offer of the fair. He thanked the Army of the Czech Republic and the Association of Defence and Security Industry of the Czech Republic, as well as the Fire and Rescue Service of the Czech Republic, the Police of the Czech Republic and other institutions for their long-term partnership and support.
Several key themes repeatedly resonated in the speeches of the VIP guests. We are experiencing the worst security situation in decades, which requires a comprehensive response far beyond the level of individual states or armed forces. At the same time, a race has begun to develop and implement new disruptive technologies that we cannot afford to lose. It is therefore essential not only to continue to increase spending on defence and modernisation of our military, but also to deepen cooperation with our partners in NATO and the European Union. "On the one hand, it is necessary to support our domestic industry, which is our natural interest, but on the other hand, we will also have to cooperate much more with the defence industry of other countries, to integrate and pool research and development resources more, because it is the division into 27, or 32 small cups leads to the fact that the efficiency of defence research, but in general research in Europe is significantly lower than in the United States," said President Petr Pavel in his opening speech, who appreciated not only the high professional level of this year's fairs, but also their complexity.
