Lockheed Martin, the US military aircraft manufacturer, will be the gold sponsor of the fifth edition of the Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) 2018, to be held from November 14 to 16, under the auspices of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

 Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Personal Representative of His Majesty the King and chairman of the Supreme Organising Committee of BIAS, signed the agreement with Lockheed Martin at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK, said a Bahrain News Agency  (BNA) report.

Lockheed Martin is one of the largest companies in the aerospace, defence, security, and technology industries.

Shaikh Abdulla lauded Bahrain’s success in attracting mega civil and military aviation firms during the past four BIAS editions, as well as the good reputation enjoyed by the show at the regional and international levels.

He said that BIAS crowns Bahrain’s long history of aviation as it has contributed to the progress of the industry since the beginning of the 19th century thanks to its strategic location, linking the East and the West. Shaikh Abdulla was speaking while visiting the 2018 Farnborough Airshow, at the official invitation of the Farnborough International.

Shaikh Abdulla also signed a participation and silver sponsorship of BIAS with BAE Systems company, which is a British multinational defence, security, and aerospace company. BIAS chief also signed agreements with Etihad Airways Engineering; Mark Stewart Productions, a London-based television production company, to provide video footage of BIAS 2018, and the Bahrain Airport Services (BAS) company.

He said that the BIAS spaces allocated for mega companies, as well as those at the 10,000-sq m exhibition hall have been sold out, addding that preparations to receive airshow teams and other planes have been completed.