Up to 16 national companies are attending the most important trade fair in America to reinforce their presence, open new lines of business and establish alliances

Chile returns to the aerospace show scene with FIDAE 22 in the company of Spain

photo_camera PHOTO/FIDAE - FIDAE, Ibero-America's leading aerospace and defence fair, returns on 5 April after a two-year break imposed by COVID-19, which forced the cancellation of the 2020 edition just two weeks before it was due to open its doors, under the slogan   

The 22nd International Air and Space Fair, better known as FIDAE, is the first global event to follow the 11 March inauguration of Chile's new president, Gabriel Boric, and all the ministers of his left-wing coalition government, Apruebo Dignidad.

The new head of the defence portfolio, Maya Fernández, will be in charge of inaugurating the oldest, most important and most influential aerospace, defence and security exhibition held in Latin America on 5 April. She will be accompanied by Air General Arturo Merino Nuñez, Commander General of the Chilean Air Force (FACH), the institution responsible for organising the Exhibition.

FIDAE

FIDAE 2022, the fifth most important show in the sector worldwide, now stimulated by the events in Ukraine, will bring together until 10 April on the side of Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago "more than 400 exhibitors from 40 countries", who will showcase their latest technologies, products and services, confirmed the president of FIDAE, Aviation General Jean Pierre Desgroux. The most important executives of aeronautical companies, airlines and senior officers of the Armed Forces of the world, mainly from American countries, will be in attendance.

The 2020 edition - which coincided with the 40th anniversary of FIDAE - could not be held due to the serious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The then president himself, Sebastián Piñera, was the one who, just two weeks before its inauguration on 31 March, was forced to announce its cancellation when the attendance of more than 400 exhibitors from 46 countries had already been confirmed.

At FIDAE 2022, which opens its doors on Tuesday, 5 April, 16 companies will be present, seven of which are grouped around the national pavilion organised by the Spanish Association of Defence, Security, Aeronautics and Space Technology Companies (TEDAE). They are CESA, Hisdesat, Indra, Instalaza, ITP Aero, I-4S and Tecnobit, which have come to the Chilean capital to present their new high-tech products and services and to expand their presence in Latin American countries.

FIDAE
From radar imagery to aircraft engine overhaul

The national industry will be supported by the presence of the head of the Air Force Logistics Command, Lieutenant General José Luis Pardo, the Deputy Director of International Relations of the General Directorate of Armaments and Material, Rear Admiral Nicolás Monereo, and the head of the Foreign Support Office of the Ministry of Defence (OFICAEX), General Cesar Augusto Sáenz de Santa María.

ITP Aero, the large manufacturer of engines and aeronautical components headed by Carlos Alzola, is coming to FIDAE to consolidate and expand its close relations with the Ministries of Defence of Colombia, Chile and Ecuador in the maintenance of their military aircraft and helicopter engines. And to deepen its maintenance activities for different types of engines in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru.

FIDAE

With the Chilean and Ecuadorian Armed Forces, it collaborates in the repair of the CN235 (General Electric CT7 engines) and C212 (Honeywell Aerospace TPE331) twin-engine propulsion plants, which in the case of the Andean republic is carried out through the Empresa Nacional de Aeronáutica (ENAER). It also repairs the General Electric T700 engines of the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters of the Colombian Air Force and Army Aviation, as well as the RR250 engines of the Bell 206 helicopters of the Ecuadorian Air Force.

One company that aspires to collaborate with Chile in the development of its space capabilities is Hisdesat, an operator dedicated primarily to providing secure communications and Earth observation services to official defence, security, intelligence and foreign service institutions.

The company headed by Miguel Ángel García Primo considers Chile and the southernmost countries to be a market with many possibilities and will focus on its two main areas of business, secure communications and earth observation with radar technology. Because of their cloud concentrations, Chile's southernmost regions and those closest to Antarctica require radar rather than optical satellite imagery - which cannot pass through clouds - to provide authorities with timely knowledge of the situation in their territories and waters of responsibility.

FIDAE

The space segment of Chile's National Satellite System (SNSat) is based on optical satellites, developed by a consortium of companies in Israel. Fortunately, SNSat includes a suite of radar capabilities to which Hisdesat hopes to contribute with images from its powerful Paz radar satellite, which offers a resolution of up to 25 centimetres under all weather and light conditions.

Air traffic control and state-of-the-art simulators

Under the leadership of Luis Furnells and dedicated to the development and production of avionics equipment and systems, electro-optical sensors, tactical communications systems and personal encryptors with SCIP protocol, Tecnobit focuses its offer on the field of simulation. The Fire Support Simulator (SIMAF), which has been developed in accordance with the requirements of the Brazilian Army, will be on display at its stand.

FIDAE

With offices in Spain and Latin America, Tecnobit also unveils the unclassified part of SIMTAR, the high-precision technical and tactical training simulator for the United Arab Emirates ground forces. Immersed in the final stages of development, its features enable gunners to plan, acquire targets, prepare and execute fire, as well as evaluate the effects of gunfire.

Indra's Transport and Defence branch headed by Ignacio Mataix will attend FIDAE satisfied with its recent success in France. Its automated air traffic management system and the new PSR 2D radars have been selected by the Ministry of Defence in Paris to form part of the Air Operations Command, Control and Conduct System (SCCOA) and provide security and support in three military airfields.

A complete system is already in place at Le Luc-en-Provence air base, home to the French Army Light Aviation School (EALAT) and the Franco-German training centre for Tiger and NH90 helicopter pilots. It was last deployed at the Dax air base, where helicopter pilots from the army, air force, navy and gendarmerie receive initial training. In the coming months, it will be deployed at the Solenzara forward base in Corsica, which oversees operations in the Mediterranean.

FIDAE

With its recently appointed general manager, Pedro Sallent, CESA is a supplier of hydraulic actuators for the landing gear of Boeing's 767, 777, 777X and 787. It also supplies flight controls and landing systems, hydraulics and actuators for the EF2000 Eurofighter fighter and the Airbus C-295 and A400M transport aircraft. And Instalaza's executive director, Miguel Muñoz, travelled to Santiago de Chile with its complete catalogue of self-propelled munitions, including the new CS70 disposable rocket launcher and the wide range of its big brother, the CS90.

The 16 Spanish companies and organisations present at FIDAE 2022 are Buildair Ingeniería y Arquitectura, CESA HD Spain, ELA Aviación, FEINDEF, Fundación Chile-España, GMSPlesium, Grupo Edefa, Hisdesat, Indra, IDS, Innovation for Shelter, Instalaza, ITP Aero, Nightvision Lasers Spain, Tecnobit and TEDAE.

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