JEDDAH: An International Symposium on Air Defense (+2020) will be hosted by the Air Defense Forces Institute in Jeddah from April 17 to 20. This is with the support of Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General. This is the first official symposium on air defense in the Kingdom and will be launched by Prince Khaled Bin Sultan, Assistant Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General for Military Affairs. It will witness one of the largest gatherings of speakers, experts and specialists in the field of air defense, to discuss new threats to air defense systems and the future requirements for international military forces to confront these threats. The symposium's participants will discuss command and control systems, air-land defense, integrated defense against ballistic missiles and the opportunity to meet decision-makers from military forces and research institutes across the world. The symposium will also shed light on the doctrine, unified joint work procedures and principles of air defense, including policies on obtaining knowledge and acquiring military equipment. Participating commanders and experts from Arab, Asian and European countries will work toward spreading global understanding on the issue. The Ministry of Defense has invited several major speakers including Prince Khaled Bin Sultan; Dr. Abdul Lateef Al-Zayani, the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) Secretary General; General James Mattis, Commander of the US Central Command; Air Chief Marshal Simon Bryant, Commander-in-Chief of the British Royal Air Force Command; Lt. Gen. Gilles Desclaux, Commander of Air Defense in the French Air Force; and Patrick O'Reilly, Director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in the US.
