Under the prestigious patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and with the support of the Royal Bahraini Air Force and Ministry of Telecommunications and Transportation, Specialized Events and General Marketing Activities (SEGMA) held the Manama Air Power Symposium (MAPS) on January 20th, 2016 at the Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa Hotel.

MAPS was attended by over 30 air force chiefs and some 200 officials from the GCC and around the world. MAPS was also attended by more than 200 representatives from leading industry partners, academics, and international press. Attendees came from Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the UK, US, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, and Egypt amongst others.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Achieving Air Power Superiority against Asymmetric Threats,” reflecting the most pressing priorities for regional Air Forces in the emerging strategic environment. A highly distinguished speaker panel of Air Force Chiefs from around the world provided their latest insights on a range of areas including: Close Air Support for Asymmetric Warfare Environments, New Generation Standoff Targeting Weapons, Enhancing Air-Sea Combined Operations, Search and Rescue Operations in Hostile Environments, the role of UAVs in enhancing situational awareness.