Gulf Defence Conference
17 February, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre, Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Gulf Defence Conference 2007 takes place at a point when, with rising oil and gas revenues and the concomitant growth of other business sectors, the countries of the Gulf are able to afford significant increases in their military capabilities. The acquisition of new and updated weapons, the deployment of the most effective information technology, improved operational logistics and the use of enhanced training techniques all promise to help increase military effectiveness.
The Conference features a number of senior serving officers from North America and Europe who are coming to Abu Dhabi to explain many of the most important developments as they see them and then relate these to the particular needs of the countries of the Gulf. Defence and security equipment manufacturers join the debate to highlight what they can offer, and senior figures from the IT sector explain their contributions to high-technology warfare and the maintenance of effective security at home.
The political climate of the Middle East and neighbouring regions has not improved since IDEX 2005 and due attention is to be paid on 17 February to the impact of developments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
The main purpose of this Conference, however, is to discuss what can be provided to meet the defence and security requirements of Gulf countries and of how they can best use existing and new programmes to enhance their security. The agenda covers defence on land and at sea. It looks at the interface of air power, naval and army capabilities since so many developments, not least in network-enabled capabilities, are heavily dependent on the aerial dimension.
The Conference is inviting speakers from the armed forces and ministries of the UAE and other Gulf countries to speak on their requirements.
Defence equipment is growing increasingly complex and the same holds true of the homeland security domain. The 2007 Gulf Defence Conference looks at what is available, usable and affordable. It provides governments, armies, navies, air forces, homeland security departments, suppliers of equipment and services with a valuable, perhaps even unique, opportunity to discuss what can be done now and in the next few years to help the Gulf countries cope with the challenges they face and work with allies overseas to maintain the stability of a region that is highly important in itself and also absolutely crucial to global economic prosperity.
Programme
The full conference programme will be posted here shortly. We can provide a brief overview of each session -
The opening session of the conferencewilllook at the broad issues of security and at defence sales/collaboration.
Session two will consider Land Forces and the Application of Science and Technology to their Development. This session will look at the shape and size of armies; medium-weight forces; network-centric warfare; loitering munitions; and missiles – offensive, defensive and ABM. The changing role of Special Forces will also be examined and the balance between equipment and manpower explored.
Session three - Helicopters and the Extension of their Roles in the Period to 2020. This part of the conference will look at helicopters in transport and in attack – critical role in Afghanistan and problems over insufficient availability. The future contribution of helicopters to success in warfare will also be examined.
The fourth session, on Navies and their Increasing Maritime Security Responsibilities, will look at what ships navies are buying, at their technological capability and at how they are developing their expeditionary and maritime security roles. The waters of the Gulf are a maritime security priority and the Indian Ocean presents serious challenges of an illicit nature, such as piracy.
The Aerial Dimension – armies and navies require close co-ordination with air forces in maximising network enabled capability and effects-based warfare – will be the subject of session five. UAVs and UCAVs are growing in importance and their future will be examined in this session.
Session six - The Military in Homeland Security and Its Integration/Co-ordination with Police and Intelligence Services. This section of the conference will look at police, intelligence, surveillance, communications and IT. The protection of critical national infra-structure and command-and-control in emergencies will be under discussion with involvement from the IT industry.
The seventh session, on Training, will cover developments in the real world and synthetic environments. The effectiveness of forces depends crucially on training and partnerships between the military and contractors will be explored.