Under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, the 10th Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference (DIACC) opened on November 11, 2021 at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Organised by SPPS, DIACC – the UAE’s official air power conference – is supported by the UAE Ministry of Defense and the UAE Air Force and Air Defense.
DIACC marks the start of Dubai Airshow 2021 and held its landmark 10th edition on November 13, 2021. Having become one of the largest and most prestigious international gatherings of air force chiefs of staff and commanders anywhere in the world since it was established in 2003, DIACC brought together international participation from more than seventy delegations.
Among others, key participants included senior commanders from Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kingdom of Morocco, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Sultanate of Oman, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
A high-level contingent of the world’s leading defense and aerospace companies including from Gold Sponsors to DIACC – Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Emirates, Dassault Aviation – and Associate Sponsors – Boeing, MBDA Systems, Saab, Pratt & Whitney and General Atomics Aeronautical systems –participated in this edition’s proceedings with senior executives from different regions in special attendance.
DIACC was inaugurated with a keynote address from Mohammed bin Ahmad Al Bowardi, Cabinet Member and Minister of State for Defense Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, on behalf of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of Dubai.
Addressing the distinguished local, regional and international participants at the 10th DIACC, Al Bowardi reiterated the importance of international cooperation in meeting future challenges and highlighted the key role of new technology and new concepts in unlocking advantages for the future.
”Dubai Airshow has been significantly contributing to the development of air forces around the world since its launch in 1989. The innovative concepts and ideas that we have discussed in the previous editions of Dubai Airshow has been reflected in the current capabilities and technologies of our air planes. We have to consolidate our efforts, endeavors and creativity to solve persistent and future challenges to guard security, peace and development in our countries,” he said.
The keynote address was followed by a welcome speech from Major General Staff Pilot Rashed Mohammed Al Shamsi, Deputy Commander of the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defense, who spoke about the importance of this year’s DIACC and Dubai Airshow. He spoke about the changing nature of warfare and evolution of air power with multi-domain operations, while highlighting the readiness of the UAE Air Force and Air Defense to counter regional threats.
The first plenary session focused on “Information Dominance: Employing an All-Domain Operational Strategy” and featured a high-level lineup of senior leaders including General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, General J.D. (Dennis) Luyt, Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force and Major General Staff Pilot Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi, Commander of the UAE Air Force & Air Defence. Mike Shoemaker, a retired vice admiral from the United States Navy and Vice President of F35 Customer Programs at Lockheed Martin, chaired the first session.
The first presenter, General Charles Q. Brown, Jr., Chief of Staff, United States Air Force, addressed the topic of “Seizing the Information Advantage: Employing on All-Domain Operational Strategy Against a Future Disruptive Threat.” He addressed the new dynamics of information power and its importance in integrated approaches for multi-domain and joint all domain operations for air force.
The second presenter, Lieutenant General J.D. (Dennis) Luyt, Commander of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, offered strategic perspectives on “Interconnected Sensors: Incorporating Future Space and Cyber Capabilities into All-Domain Operations.” He stressed on the importance of fusing the space and cyberspace domains into future air operations, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges associated in doing so.
Major General Staff Pilot Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi, Commander of the UAE Air Force & Air Defence, concluded the first session with a presentation on “Information Protection: Addressing the MDO Security and Information Reliability Challenges.”
He reviewed the strategic challenges with information reliability and security in multi-domain operations, underlining the need for air forces to strategically focus on the complex challenges of information protection. The three main presentations were followed by an interactive panel discussion session led by Mr. Shoemaker to bring together a rich set of insights and views on how air forces need to rethink and prioritize approaches in the search for information dominance.
The second plenary session of DIACC focused on the highly significant area for air forces of “Joint All-Domain Command and Control: Building an Agile and Resilient Combat Network,” and featured another high-level lineup of senior leaders including Lieutenant General Al D. Meinzinger, Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Air Marshal Gerry Mayhew CBE, Deputy Commander (Operations) of the Royal Air Force and Lieutenant General Gregory Guillot, Commander of the Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central), Southwest Asia, United States. Jon Norman, Retired – Major General – USAFR.
