Farnborough International
Farnborough International is a major event on the arms fair calendar. It takes place every other year, alternating with the DSEi arms fair in London. This year, Farnborough runs from 9-15 July.
Farnborough is best known for its airshow but its main purpose is the combined arms fair and civil aerospace exhibition.
Military buyers
At Farnborough 2010 there were military delegations from 37 countries, with companies vying for their attention. As the organisers stated, "Demand for delegation visits is always high, however we endeavour to meet as many requests as possible."
Military delegations at Farnborough 2010
Algeria, Australia,
Bahrain, Brazil, Brunei, Canada,
Chile, China, Denmark, France,
Germany, Greece,
India, Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan,
Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, Oman,
Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Romania,
Saudi Arabia,
Singapore, South Africa,
South Korea,
Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, USA
(Bold indicates those identified as "authoritarian regimes" by the
Economist Intelligence Unit in 2010)
Arms companies
Farnborough 2012 currently has 1,169 exhibitors registered. It is not clear how many of these are involved in arms production, but 10 of the worlds 11 largest arms companies will be there (the other, Northrop Grumman, pulled out to cut costs. Reuters 14.10.2011).
Major arms companies at Farnborough 2012
Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Boeing,
General Dynamics, Raytheon, EADS,
Finmeccanica,
L-3 Communications, United Technologies, Thales
The full exhibitor list is available on Farnborough International's website.
The organisers
The event is held at Farnborough Airfield in Hampshire. It is run by "ADS Group", the trade association for Aerospace, Defence and Security companies, helped by the government's arms export unit, UKTI DSO.
UKTI DSO invites and hosts military delegations, arranges meetings, and marshals a cross-government sales team, including government ministers, to help promote arms sales during Farnborough.
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