The 3rd Manama Air Power Symposium (MAPS 2020), held under the prestigious patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and supported by the Royal Bahrain Air Force and the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication, took place as a virtual event, on November 17, 2020. MAPS 2020 is the official conference of Bahrain International Air Show that was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 containment measures. As a result of cancelling BIAS, the Royal Bahrain Air Force command decided to hold MAPS as an online event to link up speakers and participants from air forces and defense industries worldwide.   
 
MAPS 2020 brought together a select high-caliber audience of air force commanders and operators, policymakers and industry leaders from over 25 countries for the most important regional air power conference to be held online in 2020. The theme for MAPS 2020 was “Air Power and Air Defense in High Tempo and Networked Environments” where the one-day international conference discussed the most pressing issues in air power and missile defense in light of the most recent experiences and lessons learned in-theater from operations.

The audience had the chance to interact with the speakers and asked questions related to the topics and the theme of the event. The speakers addressed several topics focusing on the evolving role of C4ISR with a growing use of AI technologies. They also addressed the entry of the 5th Generation fighters the theater of operations in the Middle East region and the ways to integrate them with 4th Generation warplanes. The topic of missile defense gained strong attention at MAPS 2020 due to the growing threat of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial systems regionally and internationally.

MAPS 2020 was a big success as a first ever virtual event on air power in the Middle East region. Some of its presentations will be available via SEGMA website. Organizers are looking forward to holding the 4th edition of MAPS in 2022, with the world free of the COVID-19, allowing it to take place physically.   

For further details about the event please contact Riad Kahwaji, General Manager SEGMA, by telephone +971 (4) 399 8355 or email riadk@segma.co