Every two years, within Idex’s 35,000 square metres of exhibition space, leading figures in the global defence community witness the ways their sector is changing to match new security threats.
This year’s main takeaway will be the speed with which the industry is hurtling towards a future where AI technologies, cyber capabilities and autonomous systems increasingly complement conventional, human-focused, "boots on the ground" warfare.
The Gulf will be a major region in which these technological advances develop. Saudi Arabia has announced that it will invest $20 billion in its domestic defence sector over the next 10 years. In the GCC region as a whole, spending grew by over five per cent to $100bn last year.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, February 21, 2021. Idex 2021. Social distancing is a must on day 1 of IDEX. Victor Besa / The National Section: NA/Stock Images
Last time Idex was held the UAE signed over $5.5bn worth of contracts
Changing warfare brings changing threats. As modern militaries increasingly digitalise their operations, so do adversaries, often through relatively anonymous and more cost-effective cyber attacks. As computers become more integrated into defence sectors, so do the opportunities for hostile actors to exploit these systems. The "attack surface area", as cyber-defence experts say, increases. Now, even civilian infrastructure, such as water plants and electricity grids, are in malevolent actors’ sights. Attacking these targets can have a much more gruelling impact for a country’s civilians than hitting a trench or airfield. Investment in cyber capability, therefore, means little without matching investment in cyber security.
Recently, some of the sector's leading figures have addressed these issues in The National. Abri du Plessis, the chief executive of NIMR, an armoured vehicle company that is part of the major UAE-based defence manufacturer Edge, wrote that tanks and other military vehicles are "undergoing one of the most significant technological evolutions in their history" to adjust to the increasing use of cyber tactics in warfare.
Beyond new combat trends, conversations at Idex also reveal much about the domestic defence sector’s thinking. Sixteen per cent of companies present at the event are based in the Emirates, and their exposure to international buyers is part of a broader, more gradual effort to build economic relationships and industry sub-clusters. In 2019 – the last time Idex was held – the country signed over $5.5bn worth of contracts. Organisers at this year’s event expect similar revenues. On day one of Idex this year, the UAE Armed Forces signed $1.37bn of military deals.
Idex is an opportunity to be reminded of the economic linkages of a growing defence sector, such as specialist employment opportunities and contributions to an increasingly diversified, knowledge-based economy.
Whether in terms of new military technology or the coronavirus pandemic, the global threat landscape has changed a lot since 2019. It has also risked, on numerous occasions, pushing people and their countries further apart from one another. But this year’s Idex, with its pandemic-safe protocols, serves as a demonstration that no matter how complex that landscape becomes, collaboration is the cornerstone of a good defence strategy.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
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Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
Option 2: 50% across three years
Option 3: 30% across five years
LILO & STITCH
Starring:Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
Steve Baker
Peter Bone
Ben Bradley
Andrew Bridgen
Maria Caulfield
Simon Clarke
Philip Davies
Nadine Dorries
James Duddridge
Mark Francois
Chris Green
Adam Holloway
Andrea Jenkyns
Anne-Marie Morris
Sheryll Murray
Jacob Rees-Mogg
Laurence Robertson
Lee Rowley
Henry Smith
Martin Vickers
John Whittingdale
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
