Dubai Airshow, in collaboration with the Defence Services Marketing Council (DSMC), held the first meeting of its Advisory Board for 2021 and discussed future strategies that will drive growth for the aerospace sector.

The goal of the Board of Advisors is to help shape the 2021 program for the Dubai Airshow, in order to elevate the event to a new level of success. After an unprecedented time of global economic downturn and grounding of the global aerospace sector, the Dubai Airshow aims to be the restart the industry’s future.

Dubai Airshow will be the first major airshow in the world to safely return during Covid-19. The event strives to reach a new level of strategic importance in 2021 with support from the UAE Government. The Advisory Board covered a variety of important issues facing the civilian and defence aerospace sectors. These included Covid-19 measures for a safe Dubai Airshow 2021, and sustainability and supply chain in line with the new “Make it in the Emirates” strategy from the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT).

The session addressed Tawazun’s announcement at IDEX 2021 on research and development (R&D) in partnership with the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces; the UAE’s focus on future energy and investments in Green Hydrogen for zero-emission aircraft as well as Next Generation (STEM) activities in 2021 that will be supported by co-located start-up events on site during the Dubai Airshow. The session also focused on the UAE’s advancement into the space sector including the Emirates Mars Mission (Hope Probe) Project and the UAE Astronaut Program which has led to a shift in multiple core sectors to drive economic development in the UAE.

Members of the advisory board include: Omran Sharaf, Emirates Mars Mission (Hope Probe) Project Director at Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC); Badr Al-Olama, ED of Aerospace at Mubadala; Alan L Davis, CEO of Raytheon in the UAE; Matar Al Romaithi, Chief Economic Development Officer at Tawazun; Mikail Houari, President of Airbus, Africa and the Middle East; Helmut Reichelt, Head of Diehl Defence, UAE; Sharief Fahmy, member of DSMC’s Advisory Board; Khalid Al Breiki, President of Mission Support at Edge; Adel Mardini, CEO of Jetex; Toshihisa Doi, GM at Kawasaki; Dr Steven Griffiths, Head of Research and Development at Khalifa University; Robert ‘Bob’ Harward, CEO of Lockheed Martin in the UAE; Matthew Cochran, Chairman and CEO of DSMC; Timothy Hawes, MD at Tarsus F&E and Nandini Rego, Director of Business Development at Tarsus F&E.

Dubai Airshow 2021 will be held from November 14-18,  2021.