The 18th Balkan Countries' Chiefs of Defense/General Staff (CHODs) conference was held on May 28, 2025, at the Turkish Armed Forces Multinational Joint Warfare Center (MJWC) Command in Levent, İstanbul. Hosted by Türkiye, the conference was attended by the Chiefs of Defense from Türkiye, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Greece, as well as the representative of the Montenegrin Chief of Defense, the Slovenian Chief of Defense with observer country status, the representative of the Croatian Chief of Defense, and guests including the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Giuseppe CAVO DRAGONE, and the Deputy Commander of NATO Joint Force Command Naples, Lieutenant General Peter K. SCOTT.

First held in 2007 under Greece's hosting, the conference was organized in Türkiye for the third time this year, following 2008 and 2016, under the chairmanship of Chief of the General Staff General Metin GÜRAK. Themed "Vision for the Use of Unmanned Systems in Future Operational Environments," the conference was also attended by Türkiye's Vice President Cevdet YILMAZ, who delivered a speech.