SEGMA held the 1st Kuwait  International Air Power and Air Defense Symposium (KIAPADS), on March 26 & 27 at the Regency Hotel in Al Bida, Kuwait, under the patronage of the Kuwait Ministry of Defense and under the support of the Kuwait Air Force. KIAPADS brought together over 250 high level delegates from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Pakistan, France, Italy, UK, and United States. KIAPADS is a groundbreaking conference in that it was the first time a focused air power and air defense event of this profile was being held in Kuwait.

Scheduled over two days, KIAPADS has drawn high level participation from around the region and selected international partners to discuss the most important developments in air power and air defense.

Held under the theme of “Air Power and Air Defense since the Liberation of Kuwait – Today’s Threat Dynamics and their Emerging Impact.”

The first day of the conference was dedicated to air power discussions with a series of high level briefings exploring the changing spectrum of air force missions and related force readiness changes, developing capabilities for emerging threats, and integrating capabilities effectively in combined and coalition operational environments.

The second day was dedicated to air defense, addressing force generation and the GCC vision to transition towards a regional integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) architecture. KIAPADS has represented a unique opportunity to stay abreast of the latest developments in regional air power and air defense.