The military industry sector in its land, naval, aerospace and cyber components starts the last four months of 2021 with renewed vigour. More than 40 international armament exhibitions and air shows are scheduled to open wide across the globe from the beginning of September until the end of the year.
To get an idea of the volume of business involved, global military spending in 2020 was $1.981 trillion, an increase of 2.6% over the previous year, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in April. Despite the impact of COVID-19, weapons systems sales in 2020 accounted for 2.4 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), up from 2.2 per cent in 2019.
In an attempt to restore normality in the face of what is expected to be the last throes of a pandemic that has cancelled hundreds of shows, fairs and conventions throughout 2020 and the first half of 2021, the show that opens the new year is in Poland. It is the 29th International Defence Industry Show or MSPO - by its Polish acronym - and is being held from 7 to 10 September in the town of Kielce, some 170 kilometres south of Warsaw.
MSPO is the stage on which President Andrzej Duda and his Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki highlight the capabilities of the country's military industry, especially the land and aeronautical industries, the latter with one of its main companies (PZL) in the hands of Airbus since 2001. The Polish show was one of the few arms exhibitions to take place in 2020 - from 8 to 11 September - and was attended by just 185 exhibitors from 15 nations, of which 124 were Polish companies, 11 from the United States, 8 from the United Kingdom and 7 from Germany. The organisers counted 3,833 visitors and 23 official delegations from 22 countries.
But the great proof of the return of companies to the defence shows is a classic of this type of event: the Defence and Security Equipment International Exhibition (DSEI), which reopens its pavilions in London from 14 to 17 September. A private initiative supported by the British Ministry of Defence and the Defence and Security Export Organisation of the Department for International Trade, it is the biennial showcase for the British land and naval industry, which in its 2019 edition was attended by around 1,900 exhibitors from 58 countries.
DSEI 2021 is being presented for the first time in a hybrid format, adding a digital platform to the in-person mode, allowing "secure online meetings and presentations" to be organised, according to the show's organisers. But DSEI is just the beginning of many more to come around the world.
Looking around the world, similar events will take place over the next four months in Thailand (Bangkok), Italy (Turin), Slovenia (Gornja Radgona), Czech Republic (Brno), Germany (Rostock), Philippines (Manila), Croatia (Split), Singapore, Bahrain (Manama), Egypt (Cairo), Serbia (Belgrade), Pakistan (Karachi), Korea (Seoul), Morocco (Casablanca), France (Paris), to name but a few.
But there are many more, including in Vietnam. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính's government and its armed forces are organising the Vietnam International Defence Expo 2021 from 12 to 19 November, to be held at Hanoi's Gia Lam airport, for both civilian and military use. Vietnamese authorities expect 250 exhibitors from 30 countries, around 300 delegations and more than 6,000 visitors. Vietnam's 2019 White Paper states that its National Defence budget is defined on the basis of its socio-economic growth rate, which in 2018 was 2.36% of GDP, giving the country a high purchasing power.
Among the most eagerly awaited fairs is the eleventh Israel Defence Exhibition (ISDEF) in Tel Aviv, scheduled for 9-11 November. It consists of an exhibition of weaponry, counter-terrorist intelligence equipment. It will also include conferences, especially on cybersecurity, as well as equipment demonstrations. And the 23rd edition of Milipol, a classic for the security forces, which from 19 to 22 October in Villepinte (Paris) will showcase the latest developments for the police sector. In November 2019 it had 1,089 exhibitors, more than 31,000 visitors from 156 countries and 167 official delegations.
Another exhibition of major global significance is the so-called Dubai Airshow. It is scheduled for 14-18 November and is the most anticipated aerospace show in the Middle East. Under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the Union of Arab Emirates, ruler of Dubai, and with the support of the UAE Armed Forces, the major international companies are confident that the event will serve to boost the recovery of the aeronautical and space industry on a global scale.
In Spain, the second edition of the International Defence and Security Fair (FEINDEF) will be held in Madrid from 3 to 5 November. This is the showcase for the national industry and is expected to consolidate its position on the international stage. In South America, Peru is hosting the 7th International Defence Technology and Disaster Prevention Exhibition (SITDEF) from 28 to 31 October in Lima; and Colombia is planning to hold the International Defence and Security Fair (Expodefensa) from 29 November to 1 December in Bogota.
August closed with the Army 2021 exhibition in Moscow, which showcases Russia's impressive land and naval military arsenal. President Vladimir Putin inaugurated it on 23 August, just a few dates after IDEF'21 in Istanbul, which between 17 and 20 of the same month allowed Recep Tayyip Erdogan to showcase the capabilities of his defence industry and armed forces to the outside world.
There is no record of the Spanish authorities sending any official delegation to the Moscow exhibition. However, a representation from the Ministry of Defence headed by General César Augusto Sáenz de Santamaría, Director of the Foreign Support Office (OFICAEX) of the Directorate General for Armaments and Material, did attend IDEF'21 in Istanbul to see first-hand the main innovations and to discuss the possible presence of the Turkish industry at the Spanish exhibition, FEINDEF, next November.
The Istanbul exhibition included a stand from the public company Navantia. Given the contributions of the Spanish company to the design and construction of the Turkish Navy's amphibious assault ship L-408 TCG Anadolu, the head of naval platforms of the Turkish Defence Industry, Alper Köse, visited the stand to see the innovations on display at Navantia's stand. The Spanish stand was also visited by an official delegation from the Royal Malaysian Navy, whose 2nd Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Abdul Rahman bin Ayob, was interested in the details of the F-110 class frigates and their most relevant capabilities, as was the official delegation from Iraq, headed by its Minister of Defence, Sadurn al-Dulaimi.
Major exhibitions of defence systems and aerospace platforms that were planned for 2020 and 2021, with thousands of exhibitors and hundreds of thousands of visitors, were cancelled and have been rescheduled for 2022 and 2023. This is the case of the historic Farnborough International Airshow, which takes place at the airport of the same name near London, whose 2020 edition was aborted and whose next edition will be held from 18 to 22 July 2022. And that of its direct competitor, the also historic exhibition at the Parisian airport of Le Bourget, whose 2021 edition has been moved to the second half of 2023.
The same solution has been adopted for the other two major defence industry shows in France: Eurosatory - for air-ground armaments - and Euronaval, which will take place in June and October 2022, respectively. The same goes for the German Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) in Berlin hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The 2020 event has been postponed to May 2022. And the International Air and Space Fair (FIDAE) in Santiago de Chile has been moved to April 2022. The same situation applies to the Rio de Janeiro Defence and Security Fair (LAAD), which has aborted the 2021 edition and has been relocated to April 2023.