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IDEX 2011 Opening Ceremony |
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Sunday,
20 February 2011, 11:14 PM |
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| IDEX
2011 spectacular Opening ceremony and Land Air Dynamic demonstration. |
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Video
Land & Air dynamic demonstration IDEX 2011
{youtube}71kKQeYllYc{/youtube} |
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Aircraft,
helicopters, stunt bikers and winged skydivers among the
highlights of this 10th anniversary's stunning opening ceremony
Abu Dhabi, 20 February, 2011: The spectacular opening ceremony
for IDEX (International Defence Exhibition and Conference)
took place this morning at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition
Center (ADNEC) grandstand marking the inauguration of the
region's largest tri-service defence show, being held under
the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al
Nahyan, President of the UAE.
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IDEX
2011 was inaugurated by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, Vice President & Prime Minister of the
UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in the presence of HH Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy
Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, a number of
other Sheikhs, in addition to 66 defence ministers, 64
chiefs of staff, top commanders, VIP guests, dignitaries,
diplomats and leaders from the world defence industry.
The
day started with the solemn and dignified playing of the
UAE National Anthem accompanied by the fly-past of the
UAE flag and IDEX flag by two Chinook helicopters, escorted
by two Apache and two Blackhawk helicopters. Air force
displays including 5 Mirage delta-winged fighter aircrafts
and 5 F-16s filled the skies in an exciting display capping
off the national anthem.
The
tone of the displays shifted to watch a few minutes of
video footage featuring the UAE's land, navy and air force
capabilities before revving up again to observe the Presidential
guard undertake a live on-water hostage rescue scenario
involving Boeing's CH-47 Chinook helicopter, Sikorsky's
UH 60 Black Hawk helicopter, two of Eurocopter's AS 550
Fennec helicopters, and two RHIB fast craft. The Presidential
guard also presented a CT storming of a single storey
building - supported by one Blackhawk and an array of
fast assault vehicles.
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Following the rescue scenarios, an impressive
parade of armored vehicles, tanks and artillery equipment
made its way through the mobility track, demonstrating off-road
capability and driver precision through the slopes and waters
of the track.
A
spectacular air and land demonstration followed as 10 professional
winged skydiving experts geared up in UAE-flag themed wingsuits
flew from 8,000 feet overhead while stunt bikers performed
acrobatic stunts on the mobility track below. |
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An assortment of military bands including
the Royal Australian Navy band, the New Zealand Army Band,
and the UAE's Military Band played stirring anthems representative
of each country's culture and defence heritage.
Finally,
as the UAE military lined up with the flags of all participating
nations, and armored vehicles returned to the track, a culminating
pyrotechnic display and the performance of the UAE's Al
Fursan Aerobatic Team marked the end of the ceremony. |
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Following the opening ceremony, Their
Highnesses and the other dignitaries undertook a tour of
IDEX. Notable highlights from the tour included a visit
to the UAE national pavilion. Amongst the 169 UAE exhibitors,
Mubadala, Tawazun and their related subsidiaries, housed
the largest stands, representative of their continued commitment
to the the UAE's economic diversification.
International
firms also caused significant interest during the tour,
some of which included IDEX's largest international exhibitor's
Rheinmetall AG of Germany, Lockheed Martin and L-3 Communications
of the USA.
"This opening ceremony has been a truly spectacular
display of a wide array of land, air and sea vehicles. The
preparation has entailed weeks of diligently rehearsed choreography
and logistics and brought together the very best that the
Armed Forces has to offer in technical operations and display,
with nations both at home and abroad working together to
make this happen," said His Excellency Major General
Obaid Al Ketbi, Head of Committees and Spokesman for IDEX
2011. "The remarkable display we have seen here today
sets the tone for the 10th edition of IDEX and the inaugural
NAVDEX, which we expect to be hugely successful in the coming
days both for the exhibitors and visitors to the event,
but also for the Abu Dhabi and UAE community as a whole,"
He added.
Final numbers for IDEX 2011 confirm 1,060 exhibitors from
53 nations occupying 108,000sqm of space and 32 country
pavilions. More than 50,000 visitors including 150 official
delegations will attend the event throughout the week, for
what is now the largest IDEX that's been held to date since
the show's inception in 1993.
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