Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Excellency Mohamed bin Mubarak bin Fadhel Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of State for Defence Affairs, today inaugurated the 12th edition of the Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference. The opening ceremony was attended by His Excellency Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Sports and Chairman of the UAE Space Agency; His Excellency Lt. General (Staff) Ibrahim Nasser Al Alawi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence; and Major General Rashid Mohammed Al Shamsi, Commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence. The opening ceremony at Atlantis – The Palm, Dubai, witnessed the participation of more than 100 official delegations from around the world alongside senior officers from the Ministry of Defence, Air Force commanders, Chiefs of Staff from friendly and allied nations, as well decision-makers and chief executives from major national, regional, and international companies specialising in defence, aviation, advanced technologies, space sciences, and artificial intelligence.

Session 1

The first session, titled ‘Hypersonics, UAVs, and Artificial Intelligence: Adapting Airpower to Asymmetric Battlespaces, ’ opened with an introductory remark by Joseph Guastella, Corporate Vice President and Regional Executive for Europe and the Middle East at Northrop Grumman. The session, moderated by Guastella, featured Major General Rashid Mohammed Al Shamsi, Commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence, who spoke about airpower in transition. Major General Al Shamsi said: “Airpower today is defined by speed, shaped by asymmetry, and accelerated by technology. We operate in a battlespace dominated by hypersonic weapons, autonomous drones, and AI-enabled systems, blurring the lines between strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war. The old predictability of force-on-force encounters is fading, replaced by fragmented attacks designed to confuse as much as destroy. The cost imbalance between offence and defence is stark: a cheap drone can trigger a billion-dollar defence system, and a single strike on civilian infrastructure can disrupt the global economy and international aviation. General Adrian L. Spain, Commander of the US Air Combat Command, discussed hypersonics in the modern fight: speed, precision, and integration. General Jérôme Bellanger, Chief of the Staff of the French Air Force and Space, addressed the strategic adaptation of preparing air forces for disruption at scale. The session concluded with remarks by Lieutenant General J.R. Speiser-Blanchet, Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, on building coalition agility and leading through emerging airpower challenges, followed by an interactive discussion with official delegations.

Session 2

Titled ‘Beyond the Atmosphere: Integrating Air and Space Capabilities for Strategic Superiority,’ the second session began with an introductory remark by Mike Shoemaker, Vice President and General Manager of the Integrated Fighter Group at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. The session, moderated by Shoemaker, was attended by Major General Vincent Chusseau, Commander of the French Space Command, who discussed ‘Mission assurance in the multi-domain fight and integrating for advantage.’ His Excellency Eng. Salem Butti Al Qubaisi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, presented the role of the Agency in strengthening national capabilities and connecting them with advanced defence frameworks, through a paper titled ‘From Orbit to Impact: Operationalising Space for Air Superiority.’ Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force, presented a paper titled: ‘Air and space: crafting a resilient, multi-domain force,’ followed by Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari, Vice Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force, who discussed an Indo-Pacific perspective on operationalising space for air superiority.

Session 3

The third and final session, titled ‘The Warfighter of Tomorrow: Standards, Artificial Intelligence, and Accountability in Next-Generation Airpower,’ opened with an introductory remark by Dr Chaouki Kasmi, President of Technology and Innovation at EDGE Group. The session, moderated by Dr Kasmi, was attended by Major General Jonas Wickman, Commander of the Swedish Air Force, and discussed rethinking recruitment and building the future force. The discussion concluded with an official recognition ceremony for participants and a group photo session.

Strategic outcomes

The conference concluded with participants emphasising the importance of developing operational integration concepts between air and space power, and enhancing research and innovation investments in artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, and hypersonic technologies – emphasising their role as key drivers redefining future defence superiority. The participants affirmed at the end of the conference that the 12th edition served as a global platform for exchanging insights and shaping new directions for the future of air defence, at a time when international cooperation and capability integration across domains are becoming increasingly vital. The organising committee has made full details of the 12th edition available on the official website diacc.ae. The website also hosts a specialised scientific bulletin, serving as a comprehensive knowledge reference on air and space power, offering quality content aligned with the conference’s strategic goals.