The Defence Services Asia exhibition in Kuala Lumpur highlighted the intense global demand for UAVs. Vendors from various countries gathered to pursue deals in the burgeoning Southeast Asian defense sector.

Watch a cheap commercial drone destroy a battle tank on the frontlines in Ukraine, or a cut-price Iranian Shahed menace Tel Aviv, then ask yourself why Southeast Asia’s defence ministries are suddenly very interested in unmanned aerial vehicles. The answer was on full display last week at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, where vendors from Abu Dhabi to Pretoria were chasing deals in one of the global arms trade’s hottest emerging markets. “There is huge demand from the...