Middle East defence forces undergoing evolution says Boeing

Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing Military Aircraft, addressed the Qatar conference on “The Changing Face of Air Power,” stressing that smaller country air forces are moving from traditional airstrike roles to broader collaboration with larger coalition countries and their militaries.

  “The opportunity is growing for smaller tactical air forces, when combined with the right mix of well-connected logistics and strike aircraft, to contribute as much or more to coalition efforts as have much larger air forces,” Chadwick said.

The annual Air Power Conference, sponsored by The Shephard Group, is a gathering of policy experts, thought leaders, decision makers, procurement officers, commanders and chiefs within the air power industry.

Chadwick also told the conference that there are global challenges affecting existing air power structures. “The world economy, aging air force inventories, obsolescence of some of the hardware and the need for some coalition governments to do more with less are all helping change the existing force structure of air power,” Chadwick said.

“To recapitalize the forces to meet the challenges, air forces will need to look to enhancements in tactical aircraft, rotorcraft and mobility aircraft that are cost and performance certain, low-risk, provide evolutionary capability enhancements, and are flexible in their applications and provide connectivity on the battlefield,” Chadwick added.

Chadwick’s remarks at the Air Power Conference were made during a stop in Qatar during a multi-day visit to the Middle East region. In Qatar, Boeing has delivered two C-17 Globemaster III airlifters to the Qatar Emiri Air Force – in August and September 2009. Since their delivery, Qatar has used the C-17s extensively in humanitarian aid missions, including flights to deliver aid to victims of the Haiti and Chile earthquakes.