Enforce Tac and IWA – 2022

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Introduction

After 2 years of pushed back and canceled shows, Enforce Tac and IWA Outdoor Classics finally took place again in Nuremberg. Up until the last moment, it wasn’t quite clear if the shows would take place, which Covid restrictions and/or measures would apply and last but not least: who would show up.

In the end it was not Covid, which had its biggest impact on the show, but the war in Ukraine.

Let’s start with Enforce Tac.

Enforce Tac 2022

For me it was the first time to visit Enforce Tac, as the show is restricted to law enforcement, military and government agencies only – besides the press of course.

What started as a small side show event years ago, as a build-up to IWA, is now a huge show of its own. Growing and in need of a larger hall every year, 2022 was no exception for Enforce Tac. Even more so – while IWA was barely booked, Enforce Tac was crowded. But more on IWA later.

As the need for defense products is on a constant rise these days, it was a no brainer for most companies to show up at Enforce Tac. And the mood was enthusiastic as Germany just had decided to spend another 100 bn Euro in defense (100 Mrd for those needing the German equivalent).

I will focus on particular companies in the coming days, but it was clear that one of the main focuses of Enforce Tac was drones and anti-drone systems. Other than that you had the typical arms companies, personal protection systems and soldier systems.

Every booth was booked by companies and people had to line up in front of the building to enter. The show itself was busy, despite the 2G requirement to get in.

This was in stark contrast to IWA.

IWA Outdoor Classics

Beforehand, the people responsible for the show made an effort to communicate that the show would take place. Only a direct prohibition by the government would have stopped them.

But after the chaotic handling of 2020’s IWA and the canceling of 2021’s show, a lot of companies preferred to wait it out and see what was going to happen. Other companies were satisfied with exhibiting at Enforce Tac, as their customer base is mainly government agencies anyway.

As a result Covid measures the various halls were quite spaciously distributed to companies to make room for safety distances, but that was actually not necessary since most of them did not show up. Especially Hall 5, usually occupied by dozens of knife making companies, was so empty, you could literally play soccer in them. Some big names decided not to exhibit with their own booth, like Victorinox (which only had a small side booth with Berghaus), some planned to come but canceled short-term, some could not come because of the war in Ukraine, and the Russian companies were actually told by the organizers that it would be best if they don’t come. Russian visitors were handed vouchers for next year.

So there were many reasons the show was not really a success in terms of show ups. The companies that were there, however, profited from the bigger attention for sure, as some told me.

Incoming…

There were certainly some highlights which I will pick out and present in some dedicated posts and galleries. What will be new for this year: the galleries and posts for Enforce Tac and IWA will be for Patrons only, so if you are interested, make sure to check out my Patreon account. I have uploaded several preview galleries there already.

I will do some exceptions for companies I want to put a certain spotlight on. Either because they are new and innovative or deserve the spotlight for other reasons.

With that being said, enjoy the few pics here in this post.

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