AFP, SINGAPORE: The latest fighter jets from the United States and Europe will take to the skies during the Asian Aerospace air show from Tuesday, symbolising the dogfight for a slice of Asia's rising aviation market.
Singapore authorities have clamped tight security on the second edition of the biennial event, held on the eastern edge of the island-republic, since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
Organisers said Asia's premier aerospace event has attracted 758 exhibitors from 33 countries, with a record 148 official delegations.
On show from Tuesday to Sunday are the latest technologies in aviation and aerospace, including the most modern fighter planes, the latest commercial aicraft, unmanned “drones” and high-tech command and control systems.
Trixie Webster, vice president of the Asian Aerospace Pte. Ltd., said she expects deals this year to match the 3.2 billion dollars worth of contracts reached in 2002.
The world's biggest aircraft makers, Boeing of the United States and Europe's Airbus, have streamed into town in force, hoping that contacts with key Asian officials could lead to future deals.
The potential for deals is large with Philippe Camus, the co-chairman of the European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Company (EADS), estimating the demand for commercial aircraft in the Asia Pacific region could reach 4,000 between now and 2020.
Of this number, more than 2,100 will be wide-bodied planes, or large passenger craft, he said in a news conference on the eve of the Asian Aerospace event.
“The demand for wide-body airliners in the Asia-Pacific between now and 2020 is estimated at over 2,100,” said Camus, who is also chairman of the French Aerospace Industry Association, GIFAS.
Camus did not give a market value for the 4,000 commercial aircraft, including smaller planes, but Airbus' planes range from around 45-286 million dollars.
Giovanni Bisignani, director-general of the global airline body International Air Transport Association (IATA), said passenger traffic in the Asia Pacific region should grow 14 percent this year, double the global average.
The global aviation industry should also return to profitability, with an estimated net profit of two-four billion dollars in 2004, compared with a total 30 billion dollars in losses since 2000.
On the military side, France has flown its Mirage 2000 RDIs and Rafale multi-role fighter into Singapore to participate in daily aerobatic displays, in an apparent bid to stamp its class in the Asian market.
Boeing's new-generation F-15E Strike Eagle will also soar high into Singapore skies with its own repertoire of death-defying manoeuvres.
Both the Rafale and the F-15E Strike Eagle, along with the Eurofighter's Typhoon, had been shortlisted by Singapore as a possible replacement for a squadron of aeging fighter jets.
The deal, involving 20 warplanes, is expected to be worth more than one billion dollars.
Industry estimates show more than 4,300 fighter planes worth over 170 billion dollars are expected to be delivered globally in the next 10 years.
Makers of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, which have proven their worth in the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan because of their unique surveillance capabilities, also hope to spark interest among Asian armies for the “drones.”
Andrew Tan, a security analyst at the Singapore-based Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, told AFP that Asia had become an important market for defence equipment and technology as its military forces modernise.
