4,500 visitors attend Dubai Helishow ’12

Dubai Helishow 2012, the premier civil and military helicopter technology and operations exhibition in the Middle East concluded on Thursday. Organised by the Domus Group, focused on two key areas of helicopter use — military, homeland security and civil defence; and air medical and rescue services. The Helishow 2012 saw sustained interest across three days, with over 2,000 trade visitors and conference delegates networking with close to 100 exhibitors from fifteen countries on the potential for rotary craft applications in areas such as search and rescue, fire fighting, military, homeland security and civil defence. The event also saw attendance from representatives of the UAE Navy, UAE Air Force, Abu Dhabi Air Wing, Royal Bahrain Air Force, UK Royal Navy and the Libyan Air Force. A concurrent conference programme was presented by conference partner Tangent Link, led by Conference Chairman Rear Admiral Terry Loughran. The first day conference on November 7 explored the need for helicopters in medical evacuation and fire fighting in high-rise megapolises. Conventional ground based methods prove useless at heights over 100m due to reach issues, necessitating an investment in rotary assets for rapid response to avoid substantial damages and loss of life in case of disaster. The second day of the conference programme focused on Heli-Borne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, a capability essential for any nation determined to exercise sovereignty over its borders and economic zones and guard against the destabilising effects of piracy, insurgency, drugs, arms, people trafficking and acts of terrorism. Conference speakers pointed to the increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, in supplementing helicopters in operation. From KhaleejTimes