SBJBC at Farnborough International Airshow 2026
The Saudi British Joint Business Council will convene a closed-door roundtable at the Farnborough International Airshow on Wednesday 22 July 2026, held within the SBJBC Defence and Resilience Programme. The session draws together representatives from the governments of the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, alongside prime contractors, small and medium-sized enterprises, research institutions, financial services providers, and policy bodies.
In addition and running across the wider airshow in the same week, the Aerospace Global Forum: Finance Summit, introduced by Farnborough International for the 2026 edition, carries relevance for members following the movement of capital across the UK-Saudi defence and aerospace corridor.
About Farnborough
Farnborough International Airshow ranks among the two largest aerospace and defence trade events worldwide, alternating with the Paris Air Show across the international calendar. The 2026 edition, which runs from 20 to 24 July in Hampshire, is the largest in the airshow’s 78-year history, following demand that prompted the addition of a sixth exhibition hall. Exhibition space and chalets were taken twelve months in advance, a waiting list of more than fifty organisations has formed, and twenty-six international pavilions are confirmed. Across its trade days the event assembles government delegations, manufacturers, suppliers, airlines, and investors, and has long served as the setting in which orders and partnerships are announced, with the deals reported across the 2024 edition valued at an estimated £13 billion to the UK.
UK-Saudi Defence and Aerospace Trade Roundtable
Convened by: Saudi British Joint Business Council
Attendance: SBJBC Members and invited guests
Date: Wednesday 22 July 2026
Time: 11:00 to 13:00
Venue: To be shared with attendees directly
Format: Closed-door, held under the Chatham House Rule
Brief: A closed-door roundtable examining the points at which UK industrial capability meets Saudi defence priorities under Vision 2030. Discussion extends across five areas, being Saudi defence priorities and the role of UK industry, supply chains and the Industrial Participation Programme, export controls and dual-use licensing, training and human capital development, and civil-military aerospace and unmanned systems. Rather than formal presentation, the format favours direct exchange between participants, with attention given to the route to market available to UK small and medium-sized enterprises through SAMI’s RUKN programme and GAMI’s localisation framework.
Aerospace Global Forum: Finance Summit
Organiser: Farnborough International
Dates: Within the airshow, 20 to 24 July 2026
Brief: The Aerospace Global Forum: Finance Summit is the first finance event in Farnborough’s history. Bringing financial institutions together with aerospace industry leaders, the summit examines the capital required to support growth, research and development, product development, and scaling, and considers how investment sustains resilience across aerospace, defence, and space, including new technologies, expanded production capacity, and supply chain development. The programme convenes the finance and investment community, among them sovereign funds, institutional investors, and banks, and sets out funding pathways for SMEs and start-ups through keynotes, panels, closed-door roundtables, and networking. Baroness Patience Wheatcroft hosts and moderates the summit, Barclays joins as the airshow’s strategic partner, and proceedings open with a panel titled “Resilient Horizons: Strengthening Global Supply Chains and Financing the Future of Aerospace,” which gathers policymakers, industry executives, and financial leaders. For SBJBC members, the emphasis on sovereign and institutional capital connects to the UK-Saudi corridor, where the Public Investment Fund and allied institutions underpin aerospace and defence investment.
Register your interest
The UK-Saudi Defence and Aerospace Trade Roundtable, which runs from 11:00 to 13:00 on Wednesday 22 July 2026, is held by invitation and admits a limited number of participants. Those wishing to attend should register their interest using the form below, after which a member of the SBJBC team will confirm attendance and provide the venue and final agenda. Questions can be directed to Robert McNamara at robert@sbjbc.org.
The Aerospace Global Forum: Finance Summit forms part of the official Farnborough programme and is accessed through Farnborough International trade registration. Members who would like to express interest in the Finance Summit should email Robert McNamara at robert@sbjbc.org or Matt Jones at techhub@sbjbc.org, who can advise on attendance.
