In spite of the surging COVID-19 pandemic, major arms makers descended on February 21 on a convention centre in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, hoping to make deals with militaries across West Asia. The biennial trade fair, the International Defense Exhibition and Conference, is Abu Dhabi’s first major in-person event since the outbreak of coronavirus — a sign of its significance to the oil-rich sheikhdom that has maintained tight movement restrictions in recent months.