Bahrain airshow 2022 sees billion dollar deals
For the first time, at least four Israeli companies exhibited their products in the first-ever Israel pavilion, though no actual Israeli aircraft, combat or civilian, were on display
The sixth edition of Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) 2022 took off at the Sakhir Air Base under the patronage of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and was officially opened by Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister of Bahrain.
Organised by the Bahrain Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications and the Royal Bahraini Airforce in association with Farnborough International, the first day of the airshow saw multiple deals and partnerships announced between leaders in the aviation and aerospace community. Pratt & Whitney announced that Royal Jordanian Airlines has selected up to 30 of the latest-generation, single-aisle aircraft powered by GTF engines, replacing its entire narrow body and regional jet fleet over the coming 3-5 years. Specifically, the airline has selected GTF engines to power up to 20 new Airbus A320neo family aircraft, including A320neo and A321neo models. Additionally, Royal Jordanian will introduce up to 9 GTF-powered Embraer E-Jets E2 aircraft, including E190-E2 and E195-E2 models. In addition, Gulf Air and Emirates officially signed a unilateral codeshare partnership, starting this December. The new agreement will offer easy connections and expanded choices for Gulf Air customers connecting to Dubai and onwards to a host of Emirates destinations across Europe, Africa, South America and the Far East.
Mohammed bin Thamer Al Kaabi, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, said: "Today marks the return of the Bahrain International Airshow, following the success of previous years, and the commitment to increasing the continuity and sustainability of the various economic sectors in the Kingdom of Bahrain in general, and the aviation industry in particular. We ensured to include worldwide best practices and take advantage of the experiences of the world's leading aviation shows in planning this year's exhibition to create a unique environment conductive to the business and growth objectives of the Kingdom and attendees. We have also created an integrated program that allows visiting civilian and military delegations to engage and interact directly with firms and decision-makers." Building on BIAS's objective as providing a skill and education hub, a workshop was held by Corrin Higgs, an Airbus sustainability expert, who presented to Bahraini university students the latest innovations and sustainability trends in the aviation industry, highlighting Airbus' journey towards clean aerospace, its sustainability strategy focus on reducing the CO2 emissions of its current aircraft, and its goal to bring the world's first zero-emission commercial aircraft to market by 2035.
The afternoon saw the skies above Sakhir Air Base filled with the world's most renowned air display teams and aircraft, with showcases of the Gulf Air 787, RBAF, JF-17, Fursan Al Emarat, UAE Mirage 2000, RSAF Typhoon, USAF F-16 demo team, Global Stars, Red Arrows, DHL B767-300 Flypast, UAE F16, Saudi Hawks and P-8 flypast. There were 186 participating companies across the display, exhibition hall and chalets, and 200 civilian and military delegations took part in an exciting programme of new features, industry-leading content, and a first-class networking experience with key regional decision-makers.
For the first time, at least four Israeli companies exhibited their products in the first-ever Israel pavilion, though no actual Israeli aircraft, combat or civilian, were on display.
The largest display in the area designated for Israeli companies is Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, joined by SpacePharma and Excalibur Systems from Israel.
During the opening of the IAI exhibit, the company's chairman of the board, Amir Peretz, noted that he was the minister of the economy when Israel and Bahrain normalized relations. "When I was the minister of economy, I signed an agreement between Israel and Bahrain, under the umbrella of the Abraham Accords, with the minister of trade in Bahrain. For me this is a very good opportunity to see what the diplomatic agreement can do to the relationship between Bahrainis and Israelis," he said. The India pavilion was inaugurated by the Indian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Piyush Srivastava. Present at the occasion were Air Vice Marshall S Srinivasan, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Transport and Helicopters), Krishna Kumar Bhaskarla, Executive Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and representatives from Bharat Dynamics Limited.
HAL is marketing the light combat aircraft Tejas, advanced light helicopter, light combat helicopter and light utility helicopter. BEL will be marketing night vision devices and counter drone systems. BDL is marketing Akash SAMs, Astra air to air missiles, counter measure dispensing systems and under water dispensing systems. Srinivasan represented India at the Manama Air Power Symposium held on 8 November 2022. He spoke on air refuelling transporting and bombing; the evolving role of unmanned systems and integration requirements at the symposium held under the aegis of the Royal Bahrain Airforce.
