Overview
The 6th Manama Air Power Symposium (MAPS 2026), held under the prestigious patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and supported by the Royal Bahrain Air Force and the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication, will be take place in Manama, Bahrain, on November 17, 2026. MAPS 2026 is the official conference of Bahrain International Air Show that will take place November 18-20, 2026, which has established itself as the most elite business-to-business event on the global airshows calendar with approximately 30,000 trade visitors in and billions of dollars’ worth of agreements signed.
MAPS 2026 will bring together a select high-caliber audience of over 400 air force commanders and operators, policymakers, aviation safety experts, and defense and aviation industry leaders from over 30 countries for the most important regional air power conference in 2026. Strategically timed to pre-cursor BIAS, the theme for MAPS 2026 is “Air Dominance, Air Defense & Aviation Security in the era of Autonomous Systems.” The one-day international conference will discuss the most pressing issues in air power and air defense, as well as aviation security, taking into account recent experiences and lessons learned in theater from operations, as well as the latest industry innovations to overcome challenges.
The prestige, scale of participation, and nature of discussions at MAPS provide a valuable platform for defense and security officials and industry partners alike to stay at the cutting edge of developments, making it an event not to be missed for the international defense and aerospace community.
Schedule
“Preliminary Agenda”
| Preliminary Agenda | |
| 8:00 – 9:00 | Registration of participants |
| Opening Session | |
| 9:00 - 9:05 | Welcome and Opening Remarks Riad Kahwaji, Chief Executive, SEGMA |
| 9:05 - 9:15 | Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications Welcome Address |
| 9:15-9:25 | Welcome Address of Royal Bahrain Air Force |
| First Session | “Building on Recent Regional Wars” |
| 9:25-9:30 | Moderator: |
| 9:30-9:45 | Defending Against Swarm Missile and Drone Attacks: Lessons Learned |
| 9:45-10:00 | Enhancing Air Power & Air Defense Based on Recent Regional Conflicts |
| 10:00-10:15 | Panel Discussion |
| 10:15-10:30 | Coffee Break and Networking |
| Second Session | “AI in Multi-Domain Air Defense” |
| 10:30-10:35 | Moderator: |
| 10:35-10:50 | Transformation of Air-Sea Operations in Consolidating Defense against Airborne Threats. |
| 10:50-11:05 | Role of Attack Helicopters in the Age of Drones and Loitering Weapons |
| 11:05-11:20 | Utilizing Artificial Intelligence in Target Selection & Acquisition in Air Operations |
| 11:20-11:35 | Panel Discussion |
| 11:35-11:50 | Coffee Break and Networking |
| Third Session | “Space and Missile Defense” |
| 11:50-11:55 | Moderator: |
| 11:55-12:10 | Role of Space-based Assets in Early Warning and Air Defense against Multiple Threats |
| 12:10-12:25 | Evolving Role of Airborne Early Warning in Complex Air Assaults (Drones & Missiles) |
| 12:25-12:40 | Enhancing Air Defense against Evolving Threat of Ballistic Missiles & Hypersonic Gliders |
| 12:40-12:55 | Panel Discussion |
| 12:55-13:10 | Coffee Break and Networking |
| Fourth Session | “Bolstering Aviation Security” |
| 13:10-13:15 | Moderator: |
| 13:15-13:30 | Maintaining Airport Parameter Security Against Evolving Drone Threat |
| 13:30-13:45 | Ensuring Civil Aviation Safety Against Cyber Attacks |
| 13:45-14:00 | Confronting New High-tech Threats: Enhancing Air Travel safety and security |
| 14:00-14:15 | Panel Discussion |
| 14:15-14:25 | Closing Remarks |
| 14:25-15:30 | Luncheon |
Venue Information
Packages
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