Military assault on Dubai Airshow
DUBAI – Military aircraft manufacturers from across the world will be homing in on Dubai next week looking for deals from wealthy Gulf states, while regional airlines will be gunning for plane makers Boeing and Airbus as continued delivery delays curtail expansion plans.
The exhibitor list for the Dubai Airshow, which runs Nov. 15-19, reads like a who’s who of global defence contractors, none of which want to miss out increasing spending on weaponry in the volatile region.
Middle East spending on military kit is expected to surpass $100 billion by 2014, led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to consultancy Frost & Sullivan, at a time when the United States and European countries are cutting defence budgets.
“Major defence companies are facing lower spending in the U.S. and Europe, but shareholders are still demanding growth so arms makers are turning to emerging markets for business,” said Guy Anderson, lead analyst of Jane’s Defence Industry.
The likes of BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Dassault Aviation will be showing off their latest airborne killing machines as Saudi warplanes continue to pummel Shi’ite rebels inside Yemen and the ever-present threat from Iran looms large.
At an exhibition traditionally dominated by large commercial aircraft orders, the fighter jet looks set to win the battle of the skies above Dubai’s Airport Expo Centre this year.
“Threats including those from Iran or the instability surrounding Afghanistan and Pakistan, Iraq, and most recently Yemen certainly add to the need of Gulf states to review their defence policy,” said Christian Koch, director of international studies at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center.
MILITARY MIGHT
Military participation this year at the Dubai Airshow will grow to 40 percent and organisers expect military orders to compensate for a drop in orders from commercial airlines, which have already announced huge fleet expansion plans and are struggling to keep up with their targets in the face of the global recession.
“There are a large number of military contracts from the Middle East that will be announced,” said Alison Weller, aerospace director at Fairs and Exhibitions (F&E), without giving further details.
Saudi Arabia is currently in talks over an agreement to purchase military transport helicopters from Russia and more Eurofighter Typhoon jets, while the UAE is in negotiations with French and Italian defence contractors to buy around 100 fighter jets.
Saudi Arabia is BAE Systems’ biggest customer for the Eurofighter outside Europe. It has 72 jets on order in a deal worth almost $10 billion.
“It seems that the Gulf region has been increasing its defence spending in recent years,” said Simon Keith, BAE’s managing director for the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific region.
As much as defence contractors are looking forward to the Dubai Airshow, commercial aircraft manufacturers will be viewing the exhibition with trepidation as delivery delays lengthen.
Boeing and Airbus could be in for an uncomfortable few days at the Dubai Airshow, surrounded by a gang of unhappy airline executives with the latest precision military weaponry just a few stands away.