On November 17, the third edition of the renowned “Manama Air Power Symposium” (MAPS-2020), for which Militär Aktuell has been a media partner for several years, would have taken place in Bahrain. Like many other defense and aerospace shows and conferences, the Bahrain Airshow following the symposium had to be canceled due to the coronavirus situation and the conference was converted into a virtual event.
Nevertheless, the organizers succeeded in bringing together top-class air force and unit commanders as well as captains of industry from 25 countries, who contributed their views and insights on current developments under the motto “Air Power and Air Defense in High Tempo and Networked Environments”. Topics included the latent threat of ballistic missiles and unmanned systems, the interaction of 5th and 4th generation fighter aircraft and the economic “download” of expensive training hours to virtual training and simulation systems. As a media partner, Militär Aktuell was able to make the following video contributions from MAPS-2020 available to our readers (overview herevideos in English):
- Brigadier General Munther Nasser Al-Khalifa, Commander of the Fighter Wing of the Royal Bahrain Air Force: “Enhancing 4th Generation fighters to better networked and coordinated operations with 5th Generation fighters – Future Priorities”
- Lieutenant General Gregory Guillot, Commander of USAF Central Command: “Conducting joint manned and unmanned aircrafts’ missions in joint operations – Technical Challenges and Opportunities”
- Air Commodore Jez Holmes, Head of the UK RAF Special (Future) Capabilities Office: “Utilizing Artificial Intelligence to Bolster C4ISR: Possibilities, Challenges and Future Opportunities”
- Vice Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of Central Command and the US Navy’s 5th Fleet: “Effective Defense against drone and cruise missiles’ attacks: Lessons Learned”
- Group Captain Kurikkatu Biju Mathews, Head of Air Defense Operations in the Indian Air Force: “Counter UAV Operations in Sub Conventional Environment”
- Brigadier General Ziad Haikal, Commander of the Lebanese Air Force: “Evolving Role of Rotary wing aircraft and helicopters in asymmetrical warfare”
- Vice Air Marshal Abdul Moeed Khan, Chief of Security, Pakistan Air Force: “Airower in Pakistan’s Counter Terrorism Operations: Lessons Learned and Future Capability Building Requirements”
- Brigadier General Luigi Casali, Chief of Staff at the Italian Air Force Training Command: “Effectively Utilizing Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) to Enhance and Improve Training of Pilots: Towards a More Cost-Effective Experience”
