22 Jul 20. Air and Space the ‘joint glue’ of defence: DSEI air advisor. In an interview with Air Force Technology, Defence and Security Equipment International’s (DSEI) first senior air advisor, RAF Air Vice-Marshal (AVM) (Ret) Gary Waterfall, said that the aerospace domain was the ‘glue’ of joint operations and shared details of DSEI’s plans for an expansion of its aerospace presence.
Commenting on the plans for DSEI 2021’s aerospace presence, Waterfall said: “To start with there is three times the space available for the Aerospace Zone than there was previously, which comes as a result of an increase in demand from industry and the ongoing support of the RAF. Where it has traditionally been located at the far end of the North Hall – visitors will remember Tempest featuring there at DSEI 2019 – the DSEI Aerospace Zone has now been repositioned to be at crowd centre, as part of the newly-laid-out floorplan.”
Before joining DSEI, Waterfall served for 34 years in the Royal Air Force (RAF) before retiring as Air Vice Marshal. During his time Waterfall served as Harrier and Typhoon Force Commander as well as holding several other roles in the service.
Waterfall expanded on comments made during last week’s Air and Space Power Conference where the joining up of capabilities was a key theme of the discussion.
Waterfall said: “It [aerospace] is a glue across the defence industry, and it is really telling when you listen to the language from both the First Sea Lord Admiral Tony Radakin and the Chief of the Air Staff Mike Wigston that go beyond talking fondly about each other’s capabilities, they emphasise how they are an integral part of UK defence as a whole.”
While DSEI grew out of a focus on the land and maritime domains, with the first DSEI – originally called the ‘British Army and Navy Exhibition’ – being held in Chertsey in 1999, Waterfall said that as domains are increasingly perceived jointly, the increasing importance of aerospace has been an ‘overall response to the need’.
Waterfall explained: “The world has moved away from the separate stovepipes of air, land and maritime. Look at our Joint Forces Command, now the Strategic Command, where you’re looking at defence as a whole, as opposed to those separate industries.
“When I think about air and space, what is it bringing to the party that the other domains, don’t necessarily bring? And I think that the air domain really is the joint glue, that is holding separate defence capabilities together”
DSEI said that ahead of the 2021 event, already 75% of the expanded Aerospace Zone had been filled with confirmed exhibitors including aerospace companies MBDA, GKN and Kratos Defence and Security to name a few.
Outside of the aerospace domain, DSEI said that show regulars including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, BAE Systems were already confirmed for the next event.
Commenting on the build-up to the event, Waterfall said that the show attendee commitments were already at 75%, well in advance of bookings at this stage in the usual events cycle, in part due to the enthusiasm to get back to business after the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Looking forward to 2021 and the challenges presented by Covid-19, Waterfall explained: “What’s important, particularly about the ExCel Centre, is that we can control as much as we need to, to ensure that we meet any restrictions still in place, and we can work within them to ensure that we still bring the industry together to engage face to face.”
Waterfall added that the already high uptake in companies confirming their attendance reflected on the strength of the DSEI brand as a ‘one-stop-shop for the whole of defence’.
Commenting on what to expect from the aerospace domain at DSEI 2021, Waterfall said: “Information is going to be a key area of focus in terms of the rapid transmission and exploitation of information. Once more, Tempest and the Tempest technologies are going to be a hot topic of discussion. We can also expect RAF to showcase the significant advances that are being made in the synthetic environment across the whole arena of testing, training and operational rehearsal”
While some industries, including the events sector, have suffered as a result of Covid-19, Waterfall said defence aerospace had escaped relatively unscathed but added that the sector was keen to get back to doing business face-to-face.
Waterfall said: “The defence aerospace industry has been operating pretty much business as usual, in the background. The integrated review is coming up so in terms of defence procurement and defence aerospace work is still underway, but – like many of us – adapting to the virtual world as much as possible.
“I think that there is a need to get back together, you can’t just browse the World Wide Web for possible opportunities. There’s going to need to be a place for defence and aerospace to come together and collaborate, which is perhaps more important now than ever before. The only way you’re really going to do that to the strongest effect is by getting in a room together, as opposed to relying on virtual engagements which are more difficult, and more contrived by their very nature.”
Commenting on Waterfall’s appointment, DSEI organiser Clarion Defence and Security Group managing director Tim Porter said: “DSEI helps to shape the defence industry in the UK and internationally, and we see extreme value for our stakeholders in supporting the growth of the aerospace arm of DSEI with the appointment of AVM Waterfall in a role that will focus exclusively on enhancing the air offering for DSEI 2021.
“I welcome AVM Waterfall to the team and am happy to report that we are already seeing positive effects of the appointment, with DSEI 2021 shaping up to include more air platforms and exhibitors than ever before.”
DSEI 2021, will be hosted at London’s ExCel Centre from the 14-17 September. (Source: army-technology.com)
22 Jul 20. Many have been wondering about the status of the SHOT Show® this January 19-22 in Las Vegas. Plans for the 2021 SHOT Show are in full swing and we are looking forward to bringing our industry back together. In fact, with our expansion to the new Caesars Forum, this will be the largest SHOT Show ever with over 730,000 net square feet of exhibit space.
For our retailers and ranges, we will be ready to facilitate the valuable business connections and purchasing opportunities missed due to the global health crisis. For our law enforcement family, we will be ready to help state and local agencies come together to discuss today’s many procedural and operational challenges. Much has happened since January and attending the 2021 SHOT Show will be even more essential in order to work together to move the industry forward safely and successfully.
Exhibit Hall Update
Over the past month, the SHOT Show team has been working with industry manufacturers and suppliers to confirm exhibitors — industry manufacturers, suppliers and distributors — that will be participating in the 2021 show. More than 2,600 booths will be on display this January. They will be ready to offer solutions, available inventory and address any issues caused by the pandemic.
The 2021 SHOT Show will also be expanding to Caesars Forum, just steps away from the Sands Expo. More space, more products and more categories will be waiting for you delivering even more value to all participants.
Health and Safety is Our Priority
The health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors, media, and our employees is a foremost priority as we plan for the 2021 SHOT Show. We are in constant contact with our partners monitoring the latest developments in the COVID-19 pandemic as well as clarifying important safety protocols and guidelines for large events. As a result, the 2021 SHOT Show may feel a bit different, but the critical buying and networking opportunities will be very much the same. We’ll continue to share more specific details on what the experience will be like as we move closer to the show.
We hope you will mark your calendars for January 19-22, 2021, and plan to join us in Las Vegas for a fully loaded and expanded SHOT Show. We will keep you posted on new show details throughout the summer.
21 Jul 20. After careful and detailed consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to convert the 2020 AUSA Annual Meeting from an in-person meeting to a virtual experience. Based on health and safety considerations and on-going restrictions on large gatherings, it’s just not possible for us to conduct an in-person meeting as we originally envisioned.
This was a tough call. The Annual Meeting is an incredibly important event and one of our favorite ways to celebrate everything that unites us, but health and safety must come first.
It’s no secret that this has been a difficult time for all – soldiers and their families, our great AUSA members and volunteer leaders, defense industries large and small, and our many international partners.
We know that this announcement will come as an enormous disappointment to many of you, but we felt this was the best, frankly the only, way to proceed.
We’re sad, but you can’t wring your hands if you’re rolling up your sleeves, and your AUSA team is doing just that! We’re coordinating details for a large virtual event this October. While it may not replace the full experience of the in-person AUSA Annual Meeting, it will serve to keep us connected with Army senior leaders and messages, with industry partners, and with AUSA members around the globe. We’re planning for a forum that connects us beyond the 33,000-plus people we expected to see in Washington, D.C., this year.
For all of our sponsors and exhibitors, our team will be reaching out directly to all of you with information about new opportunities to support your own and AUSA’s missions, as well as information about refunds. We will post virtual event information on our website as quickly as possible. Please be a little patient with us as we work out all the details, but don’t hesitate to contact us, if you need specific information.
While we’re very disappointed not to be able to host you all in person this year, please know that we are already looking forward with great anticipation to next year’s Annual Meeting from 11-13 October 2021 and a grand reunion in Washington, D.C.
17 Jul 20. Saudi launches World Defense Show for 2022. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) launched the World Defense Show (WDS) on July 15. The new event will take place in Riyadh from March 6-9, 2022.
His Excellency Ahmad Al Ohali, Governor of GAMI who attended the launch event, has been tasked to localise 50% of the Kingdom’s military spending by 2030. According to Al Ohali, the World Defense Show will play a key part in developing that business, “to attract the transfer of technologies, transfer of production and to optimise the Kingdom’s purchasing power.” Shaun Ormrod, the former head of Farnborough International Air Show, is CEO of the World Defense Show. He brings with him 20 years of experience organising defence trade shows, and said WDS will be the next generation aviation show. He told the virtual audience, “Interoperability and the new challenges facing the defence industry will be the central concept of the event, reaching out across air, land, sea, satellite and security domains”, writes Alan Warnes.
In an already cluttered aerospace calendar, Ormrod said that they considered all the other defence events in the region – IDEX, Dubai, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi International Airshow before opting for the March date. He said, “These events demonstrate the vibrancy in the region and the market place, and where better to have a new event than in the centre of three continents, which offers great opportunities.” He added, “Saudi Arabia is also the largest market available for our customers and there will be full scale access and opportunities to Saudi military entities.”
Ormrod did not think that there would be any clash with the Saudi International Airshow which was only launched last March, because their objectives were different. “WDS is a defence exhibition and SIA is a commercial event.”
A decision on a venue for WDS will be announced on September 1, but will be big enough to accommodate land demonstrations and air displays. Ormrod finished, “Saudi’s growing commercial and industrial infrastructure offers unique logistical opportunities to showcase the latest defence technologies.”
The GAMI governor admitted that it was a big task to localise 50% of the military expenditure and while it was early days yet, he had so far managed to reach 7-8% of that goal. Clearly the World Defense Show will be a useful tool to increase that figure even further before 2030. (Source: Google/https://www.arabianaerospace.aero/)