China's defense technologies shine at Africa Aerospace and Defense expo – bastillepost.com

China’s defense technologies shine at Africa Aerospace and Defense expo  bastillepost.com

China's most advanced defense systems, from fighter jets to strategic airlifters, proved one of the China's most advanced defense systems, from fighter jets to strategic airlifters, proved one of the biggest attractions of the 13th Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) exhibition in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital, drawing strong interest and talk of future industrial partnerships. The five-day event that concluded on Sunday at Air Force Base Waterkloof under the theme "Africa's Gateway to Defence and Aerospace Collaboration" brought together more than 250 companies from 33 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americans. Combining a trade exhibition with an air show, the biennial gathering serves as a platform for promoting international collaboration, trade and investment in Africa's aerospace and defense industries with innovation in unmanned systems, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence among the highlights.

For South Africa's trade and industry authorities, the worth of the exhibition is measured in the business it creates, direct access to companies from dozens of countries, and new export and investment openings for the host economy. "What an exhibition like AAD does is bring really the best technologies from around the world and it gives everybody an opportunity to look at what other countries are up to and what they're doing. And I think that it creates an opportunity for component manufacturers in one country