Farnborough International Airshow

The 'Apache' US attack helicopter on display at Farnborough

Farnborough International is an arms fair. Even if the booths of weaponry sit side by side with civil aerospace stands and the event has an incidental public air show, it is still very much an arms fair. In the enormous exhibition halls and outdoor display space, military and civil aircraft, radar systems and missiles are displayed. Happening every other year, it is a major date on the international arms fair circuit.

The event is run by the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC), an aerospace industry association, and was established 1948 as a showcase for UK companies. Since then it has expanded to include the corporations from as many as 40 countries. Farnborough International 2008 attracted over 1,500 exhibitors. In addition to the aerospace companies, exhibitors include government agencies (UK and overseas), trade press, trade associations and other arms fairs.

The exhibition attracted some 132,636 business visitors and 153,000 public visitors on the final weekend, an increase of 23,000 compared to 2006.

New orders worth approximately $88.7bn (£44.35bn) for some 480 aircraft and equipment systems were announced during the 60th anniversary Farnborough Airshow 2008. This figure doubled the previous 2006 record of $42bn.

Both civil and military delegations attended Farnborough International 2008. Civil delegations were organised by the SBAC, and military delegations by Farnborough International Limited. According to their website, the recent move of parts of DESO form MoD to UKTI, where they have formded the Defence & Security Organisation (DSO), did not affect the organisation of military delegations for Farnborough International 2008 as a combined Farnborough International Limited and DSO team worked closely. This year, 70 delegations from 38 were invited, including Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, India, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey.

According to the UKTI DSO website, Farnborough 2008 was "the first major event, since the formation of UKTI DSO on 1st April 2008, to highlight the UK government's integrated and strategic support of both the defence and civilian elements of the aviation sector. The UKTI DSO, and both UKTI Aviation Sector and Business Group worked together to market this UK capability. They were all present in a UK Partnership Pavilion providing targeted support to both UK and international companies."

Resources

Farnborough International 2004