DETROIT — The Michigan Defense Expo, Michigan’s premier defense and advanced manufacturing event, will enter a new chapter in 2026 as it co-locates with XPONENTIAL at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit. Together, the co-located events will be known as MDEX x XPONENTIAL 2026.
For the first time, MDEX will be hosted alongside the world’s largest autonomy and uncrewed systems event, XPONENTIAL. More than 11,000 attendees are expected, among them defense leaders, prime contractors, global autonomy innovators, federal buyers and advanced manufacturers.
Officials are pointing out this is not an expansion, but a convergence.
Michigan Defense Expo (https://mdex-ndia.com) is Michigan’s premier defense and advanced manufacturing event, hosted by the NDIA Michigan Chapter. It is designed to connect defense stakeholders, manufacturers and technology leaders to strengthen national security and the industrial base.
XPONENTIAL (https://xponential.org) is the flagship global event of AUVSI, which convenes international leaders across autonomy, robotics and uncrewed systems to accelerate deployment across air, land and maritime domains.
“This is going to be our 17th year, so it’s something that we’ve … kind of had a routine going,” said Misty Martin, the MDEX chair. “But for this year we were asked to co-host with XPONENTIAL, which is an international show, and to run the defense portion of it. So what’s really going to be the biggest difference is we’re going to go from an attendee footprint of 3,200 to close to between 11,000 to 13,000. So that’s going to be huge.”
MDEX has built its reputation as Michigan’s largest defense conference. Hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association Michigan Chapter, the event connects the defense industrial base to government leaders, procurement officials, modernization priorities, and mission-driven collaboration. It is where Michigan’s engineering depth, ground vehicle expertise, and manufacturing capacity align directly with national security demand.
In 2026, that foundation scaled globally when AUVSI selected Detroit as the host city for XPONENTIAL 2026, its flagship international event focused on autonomy, robotics, and uncrewed systems across air, land, and maritime domains. XPONENTIAL is a rotating global platform. Detroit was their decisive plan.
That decision signals recognition of Michigan’s defense manufacturing ecosystem, mobility leadership, and capacity to move emerging technologies from concept to production.
“I’m super excited to be able to expose Michigan’s manufacturing defense base to that many people and to people who might not know what all we do in Michigan,” Martin said. “I know when I was a green suiter (Martin retired from the U.S. Army) I would have kids come up to me and they’d think it was so cool to see a soldier. Then their parents would say, ‘well, I didn’t know we had any military here in Michigan.’ And I’m like, ‘we make more government vehicles here than anywhere else in the world.’
“I’ve been very proud of what Michigan does and contributes to the defense and to the sector, and so I’m super excited to be able to grow it like this,” she added.
MDEX remains Michigan’s anchor defense event. XPONENTIAL brings international reach. Together, MDEX and XPONENTIAL 2026 create a unified platform unlike anything the region has hosted:
- 11,000+ expected attendees
- Global representation across industry and government
- Cross-domain technologies from ground vehicles to aerial systems to autonomy
- Direct interaction between defense acquisition stakeholders and defense / autonomy leaders
The co-location, Martin pointed out, places MDEX at the center of a global conversation while maintaining its mission-focused structure. The result, she said, is a week where advanced mobility, robotics, AI-enabled systems, and defense modernization intersect in one venue.
“MDEX has always been about connecting Michigan industry to defense opportunity,” Martin said. “In 2026, that opportunity expands globally. With XPONENTIAL joining us in Detroit, the scale increases, but the mission remains the same. Deliver capability. Build partnerships. Strengthen the industrial base.”
Representatives from AUVSI noted Detroit’s unique position as a production city capable of deploying, not just demonstrating, autonomous systems.
MDEXxXPONENTIAL takes place May 12-14 at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit. The co-located structure allows attendees to move seamlessly between defense-focused programming and global autonomy showcases. The overlap is deliberate, officials said. Defense modernization now depends on commercial innovation cycles, while commercial autonomy depends on industrial scale and mission rigor. Detroit, according to Martin, provides both.
