Inauguration Of The 10th Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference

Held 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) was held today at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Organized 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 today. 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 today.

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 today’s proceedings with senior executives from different regions in special attendance.

DIACC was inaugurated with a keynote address from His Excellency 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, His Excellency Mohammed bin Ahmad 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. His Excellency highlighted that, “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”. He also added, “we have to consolidate our efforts, endeavors and creativity to solve persistent and future challenges to guard security, peace and development in our countries.”

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 focus 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, a retired major general from the United States Air Force and Vice President for Air Power Requirements and Capabilities at Raytheon Technologies, chaired the second session.

Lieutenant General Al D. Meinzinger, Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, was the first presenter for the second session and provided strategic perspectives on “Overcoming the Operational Challenges in a Highly Networked Joint Environment,” where he focused on human factors and challenges related to operating in a high technology environment. The second presentation was delivered by Air Marshal Gerry Mayhew CBE, Deputy Commander (Operations) of the Royal Air Force from the United Kingdom on “Command and Control (C2) at the Speed of Modern Warfare: Modernizing and Adapting Current Systems and Network”. He articulated the rapidly changing of modern warfare and how air forces need to adapt their systems and network to be able to operate faster and more decisively.

Lieutenant General Gregory Guillot, Commander of the Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central), Southwest Asia, United States, provided the final presentation of the session on “Connecting Coalition Partners: Moving Towards a More Distributed CAOC Command and Control Network.” He discussed the importance of transforming command and control into a more distributed architecture to generate new benefits and advantages for air forces in terms of being able to respond and react faster. Following the final presentation, Mr. Norman led an interactive panel discussion with the speaker panel that generated important insights on challenges related to integration and interoperability for air forces, particularly in a joint all domain command and control context.

The final plenary session for DIACC focused on “Synchronizing Combat Effects: Connecting Sensors and Platforms,” reflecting one of the most crucial focus areas for air forces, and featured General Stéphane Mille, Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, Chief of the German Air Force and Air Commodore Dave Paddison, Commander, Joint Task Force 633, Royal Australian Air Force. The session was chaired by Joël Rode, a retired major general from the French Air Force and Advisor for Operational Requirements at Dassault Aviation.

General Stéphane Mille, Chief of Staff of the French Air and Space Force, opened this session with a presentation on “Countering the A2/AD Threat: Employing Full Spectrum Targeting across the Fluid Domains.” He provided a strategic perspective on challenges related to the future threat environment and on advancing targeting capabilities for air forces in a multi-domain context. The second presenter of the session, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, Chief of the German Air Force, provided an overview of “Combat Cloud 2040+: Connecting Manned and Unmanned Platforms in Joint All Domain Operations.” He spoke about the development of cloud networks and their future utility for air forces, particularly for integrating manned and unmanned platforms into air operations more effectively.

Air Commodore Dave Paddison, Commander of Joint Task Force 633, Royal Australian Air Force, concluded the final session with a presentation on “Data Fusion: Integrating Space Domain Sensing and Awareness Capabilities into the Operational Environment.” He focused on the imperatives of integrating and utilizing the space domain more effectively in air and joint operations as well as what the future holds with advancing space capabilities. Mr. Rode moderated an interactive panel discussion with the three speakers that elaborated unprecedented changes and opportunities being generated in particular by rapidly advancing information and communications technology, which concluded the technical program for DIACC.

DIAC 2021 supporting and media partners included: Supporting Partner: Dubai Air Show, AmCham Abu Dhabi and U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council; Official Media Partner: Nation Shield; Media Partners: Arabian Aerospace, African Aerospace, Cyber Defense Magazine, Militär Aktuell and Aviation Week & Space Technology.