ITEC: Training to Kill

ITEC is a specialist arms fair dedicated to military training and simulation. It is an annual event which has taken place in Amsterdam and London. In 2006, ITEC was held at the ExCel Centre in London’s Docklands, the venue that also plays host to DSEi, possibly the world's largest arms fair. This year, ITEC takes place in Germany, 22-24 April 2007.

The equipment on display at ITEC ranges from simulators for training individual pilots to fly fighter jets and attack helicopters, to Command and Control systems for modelling full war scenarios, to equipment for high-tech target practice.

With weapons systems becoming increasingly complex, training and simulation is a booming business. In the introduction to the ITEC 2005 brochure, then UK Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said that "Individual training and education currently consumes some £4.2 billion in resource terms each year". Little wonder, then, that in 2005 ITEC attracted 133 exhibitors, including seven of the ten biggest arms manufacturers in the world.

ITEC’s role in Arms Company marketing

ITEC is organised by Reed Exhibitions, which is part of international information company Reed Elsevier. It lists ITEC firmly under ‘defence’ in its exhibitions listings, and points out that "Training and simulation are recognised as vital elements of all military operations and form a significant part of national defence budgets throughout the world." ITEC’s main backers include the UK’s trade association for the arms industry, the Defence Manufacturers Association. There can be little doubt that ITEC is an established part of the international arms fair circuit.

Many of the companies who will be present are the training and simulation divisions of major arms companies, such as BAE Systems Insyte or Saab Training Systems. Others such as FATS Inc or CAE are dedicated simulation companies. All will be equally happy to supply equipment to regimes regardless of their human rights record or current involvement in conflict. For instance, Lockheed Martin Simulation was awarded a contract to supply F-16 training to the Israeli Air Force in 20041, facilitating Israel’s continued use of F-16s against Palestinian civilians in the illegally occupied Palestinian Territories.

As with most Arms Fairs, especially those in Europe, the majority of visitors to ITEC are from NATO and EU countries who have bigger military budgets. However, visitors in 2004 also came from Bangladesh, India, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, and Ukraine. Like all arms fairs, ITEC encourages the proliferation of arms and provides networking and sales opportunities for those involved in the industry.

Download: ITEC 2006 Factsheet (69kb)