Crostars at SADEX 2025 — Taking the C5 System to the Middle East’s Biggest Drone Show
From September 1 to 3, Riyadh’s International Convention & Exhibition Center hosted SADEX 2025 — the largest professional drone exhibition in the Middle East. More than 150 companies from around the world showed up, over ten thousand visitors registered, and the guest list included members of the Saudi royal family alongside senior officials from the defense and security sectors. It was, by any measure, the right place to be. Crostars was there, at booth F31, with the C5 drone light show system as the centerpiece.
What Brought the Crowds to F31
The C5 isn’t a hard sell in a room full of drone professionals — the specs do most of the talking. Millimeter-level RTK positioning. Wind resistance rated to Level 6, meaning the system holds stable in gusts up to 13.8 m/s. IP54 waterproofing. An operating ranges from -10°C to 50°C, which matters a great deal in a region where summer temperatures regularly push past 45°C and desert dust is a fact of life.
What tends to draw people in, though, isn’t the spec sheet — it’s the footage. Drone show performances from Dubai, Japan, France, and Bangladesh played on screens at the booth throughout the three days, giving visitors a sense of what the system actually looks like in use. By the end of day one, the booth had become one of the more consistently busy spots on the floor.
Industry Visitors
Three visitors in particular stood out. Yang Jincai, Chairman of the World Drone Conference and President of the Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, visited the booth alongside Kwon Hee-chun, President of the World Drone Federation’s Korea Chapter, and Robin, Senior Advisor to the World Drone Federation.
Yang Jincai’s remarks during the event pointed at something larger than a single exhibition. As a board member of the Shenzhen UAV Industry Association, Crostars would be part of the association’s broader push into the Saudi market — a coordinated effort to establish Chinese drone technology as a serious player in the region’s low-altitude economy development.
The association’s interest in Saudi Arabia isn’t incidental. Vision 2030 has put entertainment infrastructure, tourism development, and smart city technology high on the country’s investment agenda. Drone light shows sit at the intersection of all three.
Crostars’ Global Performance Record So Far
Crostars has now performed in more than 30 countries. The list includes the United States, France, Spain, Germany, and Japan — but also, increasingly, markets that don’t always appear on the standard international tour circuit.
Earlier this year, the team delivered a performance in Bangladesh marking the 50th anniversary of China-Bangladesh diplomatic relations, timed to Pohela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year. In Paris, 2,000 drones performed for the International Olympic Arts Committee’s 30th anniversary celebration. Both projects required local coordination, regulatory navigation, and creative work tailored to the specific cultural context — the kind of operational infrastructure that takes years to build.
The Middle East fits into this pattern. Crostars has already performed in Dubai. Saudi Arabia is the next chapter, and SADEX was the opening conversation.
Crostars’ Plans for the Saudi Market
The Global Landmark Summit Initiative — Crostars’ ongoing project to bring drone performances to iconic locations worldwide — has the Burj Khalifa and major Saudi landmarks on its list. The ambition is straightforward: use the sky above places people already go to create experiences they haven’t seen before.
Local partnerships, local teams, and locally adapted content are how Crostars approaches new markets. The Saudi chapter of that story is just getting started.
If you’d like to know more about how the C5 system works, explore Crostars’ global performance history, or discuss a project in your region, you’re welcome to get in touch.