Aviacionline will be present at the Dubai Air Show to be held between November 14 and 18 at Al Maktoum International Airport, 37 kilometers southwest of Dubai, with a team of four people: two of them sent from Argentina, one from Europe and our reporter in the Middle East.
This exhibition will be the first of the major events on the global aerospace agenda to be held in person after the pandemic, following the suspensions of Farnborough and Le Bourget. Although the Russian International Aviation and Space Show, known as MAKS, was held in July, the event focused exclusively on showcasing the latest developments locally.
Over the past few months, major manufacturers and airlines have been competing for market share as they seek to restore balance to their struggling finances. Sustainability has also gained a much higher place among the priorities of an industry that is looking to reduce emissions in the coming decades by seeking alternative propulsion solutions.
This edition of the Dubai Airshow will see the debut of the TechXplore conference, which will showcase how technology is helping to re-boot aviation and changing the entire flying experience. «As part of the conference, the aviation industry’s leading technology masterminds will discuss the role of 5G, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity, and automation technologies in the development of the industry», they revealed.
More than 1,200 exhibitors will be present across more than 20 country pavilions along with a massive aircraft display of more than 160 commercial, military, and private jets, including the latest Boeing 777x, the Bombardier Global 7500, and many more.
Airbus versus Boeing versus Embraer
The pandemic accelerated the retirement of several older models, although the sustained recovery of several markets calls for new narrow-body aircraft in the near term.
Oversupply during the pandemic resulted in renegotiations on depressed leasing rates.
This has encouraged airlines such as Ryanair, Air France-KLM, the IAG Group (British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, LEVEL and Vueling), Lufthansa, Czech Airlines and Qantas, among others, to take advantage of manufacturer discounts as they need to replace their older generation aircraft.
Start-up airlines have the same objective given the better prices in the market, and the new low-cost carriers Akasa Air (India) and Bonza Air (Australia) are expected to place large orders to start their projects.
Cargo at its peak
Air cargo, the «star» sector of the pandemic, continues to move forward with aircraft conversion programs to keep up with the growing movement and compensate for the loss of passenger flight hold space.
Airbus Freighter Conversion GmbH, ST Aerospace and Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH are converting Airbus A320s, A321s, A330-200s and A330-300s to freighters.
Also Cooperativa Autogestionaria de Servicios Aeroindustriales (COOPESA), Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services (BSAS), Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company Limited (GAMECO), Taikoo (Shandong) Aircraft Engineering Co., Ltd. (STAECO), and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) are performing conversion work on the Boeing 737 Classic, Boeing 737 Next Generation (including the successful Boeing 737-800 BCF), Boeing 767 and, the new product, Boeing 777.
Models with the largest market presence in the conversion market are: Boeing 737-800BCF and Airbus A321 P2FHowever, Airbus and Boeing are contending to launch the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X freighters for long-haul services and in the future replace the Boeing 747.
Towards a more sustainable aviation
Reducing emissions has become one of the top priorities for different industry players ranging from airlines, airports, aircraft manufacturers, air navigation service providers, and governments, among others.
Several companies have progressed in finalizing agreements for sustainable fuel supply by exploring different sources, moving towards the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2050 announced during the IATA AGM in Boston last month.
On the other hand, the VTOL and eVTOL world has noticeably grown, with more than 20 companies fighting for a market that already has letters of intent for more than 3,000 aircraft.
Aerospace defense
Many countries’ Armed Forces are facing a technological renewal process to respond to the irruption of new threats and the growing complexity of the battlefield.
An important part of this renewal is based on the replacement of 4th generation fighters (F-16, Mirage 2000, Mig-29, etc.) by new aircraft, more capable of 4.5 gen (Rafale, Gripen, MiG-35, F-16Block 70, and others) or directly by 5th generation fighters.
The main characteristics of 5th generation fighters are their low radar signature and their ability to obtain, process, and distribute large volumes of information. However, Russia intends to challenge this hegemony with its Sukhoi Su-57 Felon and its novel Checkmate project, which will be presented for the first time outside Russia at the Dubai Air Show 2021.
Regarding new threats, we must talk about drones, or unmanned means of observation, intelligence, and/or combat. The technological advancement and lowering of the cost of the software and hardware needed to set up a drone industry make this one of the most accessible warfare technologies to be established by a large number of nations. Furthermore, the significance of its war impact was clearly demonstrated during the conflicts in Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh. So there is no doubt that at the Dubai Airshow 2021 there will be a multitude of unmanned aerial systems of all types and origins, as well as a large number of anti-drone systems.
Within the spectrum of unmanned systems (but not exclusively), we must draw attention to the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, which will make it possible to deploy over future battlefields real swarms of drones and marauding munitions, which will represent a lethal challenge to any air defense, even the most advanced in the world.
In addition, at DAS 2021 we will find out about the latest developments in 6th generation fighter aircraft programs, which will incorporate all the technological elements mentioned above, to be combined into a true next-generation integrated multi-domain combat system, composed of high performance, low defectibility platforms, massive use of AI, designed for electromagnetic spectrum warfare dominance and for the handling of unmanned combat systems of the Loyal Wingman type.
Lastly, the space. The barriers between air, information, and space dominance are blurring, combined with the emergence of many new private and state actors who are competing to establish positions of dominance in what many are calling the New Space Race.
Aviacionline at Dubai Air Show
We will be at the Dubai Airshow 2021 with four correspondents to bring you the best coverage in Spanish language.
We have created a special microsite at aviacionline.com/dubai2021 where all the material generated from Dubai will be uploaded.
You will also be able to follow the news minute by minute through our social media accounts on Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, and Telegram.
