Fresh off completing the sale of six A-29 Super Tucano to Lebanon, Embraer and its partner Sierra Nevada seek to expand the aircraft’s inroads in the Middle East and Africa with its first-ever Dubai Airshow display of the light attack aircraft.

Across the Middle East, the region’s airports are expanding, but nothing quite on the scale of development to be seen here in Dubai.

After years of searching for a foothold on the Indian sub-continent, ExecuJet Middle East has partnered with an as yet unnamed Indian partner to operate a fixed-base and maintenance operation at New Delhi International Airport.

There are a number of ironies surrounding the growing maturity of the military unmanned air systems market as far as the Middle East is concerned.

Digitally assisted close air support technology is coming to the Middle East.

Russia’s government arms trade agency Rosoboronexport is restoring ties with Iran, continuing deliveries to Syria and otherwise planning to boost sales to the Middle East region.

In 2008, the sale of U.S. precision-guided weapons to Saudi Arabia was controversial in Congress. But the sale of all kinds of weapons to the oil-rich kingdom has picked up, particularly since 2010.

The Middle East Business Aviation Association does much more than hold a conference and show in Dubai every two years. It is working hard to develop business aviation across the region, and can point to meaningful results.