The 5th Manama Air Power Symposium (MAPS 2024)

Overview

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The 5th edition of the Manama Air Power Symposium (MAPS-2024) was held successfully on November 12 at the Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa. MAPS 2024 is the official conference of the Bahrain International Air Show. MAPS 2024 brought together a high-caliber audience of nearly 300 air force commanders, operators, policymakers, and industry leaders from over 22 countries for the most important regional air power conference in 2024. Strategically timed to pre-curser BIAS, the theme for MAPS 2024 was “Air Power in All-Domain Warfare,” where the one-day international conference discussed the most pressing issues in air power and air defense considering the most recent experiences and lessons learned in theater from operations.

The event was opened with a welcome speech by SEGMA Director General Riad Kahwaji, who underlined the importance of MAPS. It comes at a time when several areas worldwide are witnessing military conflicts reasserting the role of air power and missile defense. He noted that MAPS allows air commanders to exchange views and experiences and assess the effect of new technologies on air operations.

The Royal Bahrain Air Force (RBAF( commander, Major General Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Khalifah, addressed the evolving threat environment in his speech, compelling many countries to reconsider their military doctrine and strategies. He called on the defense industry to develop systems that can improve capabilities in confronting the threats posed by terrorist groups. Major General Hamad called for a global dialogue focussing on disarming terrorist groups and depriving them of all forms of support.

General (Ret) Gary North, VP of Program Management at Lockheed Martin, chaired the conference’s first session. The first speaker was Lt. General Derek France, commander of the U.S. Air Force Central Command. His presentation concentrated on joint manned and unmanned operations and highlighted the progress in developing the semiautonomous unmanned aerial systems known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA). He emphasized the role of AI in advancing the CCA so that fifth—and sixth-generation platforms can perform more effectively in all-domain warfare. The second presentation was done jointly by two RBAF officers, Colonel Ali Mahmoud, and Colonel Khaled Kamal, under the guidance of Brig. General Abdulla Alnaimi, Air and Missile Defense commander in RBAF. The presentation focussed on the role of AI in confronting airborne threats through proper situational awareness assessment and preemption.

The second session tackled more topics related to AI’s growing influence on defense systems. Riad Kahwaji moderated the session, which Vice Admiral George Wikoff, commander of the U.S. Navy Central, U.S. 5th Fleet, led. Wikoff addressed multiplying the effect and efficiency of air-sea autonomous operations through the proper employment of AI. Lt. General Gunter Katz, the commanding general of the German Air Force forces command, highlighted the role of AI in improving the training of pilots to operate manned and unmanned systems. Air Vice Marshal P. V. Shivanand, Deputy Commander of the Indian Air Force, tackled the role of air power in increasing the C4ISR effectiveness in multi-domain operations.

General North moderated the third session, which featured two speakers. The first was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, Lt. General Aurelio Colagrande, who examined the next-generation helicopters and underlined the importance of the flexibility provided by the multi-role platforms. The last presentation was by Air Marshal (Ret) Martin ‘Sammy’ Sampson, Executive Director Middle East, International Institute for Strategic Studies. Sampson presented his views on the best means to enhance cross-generation interoperability in multinational aerial operations. Each of the three sessions was concluded with a Q&A panel that witnessed interaction between the audience and the presenters.