Dubai's biennial Air Show has opened to a world still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and an aviation industry hard-hit by the coronavirus, but on the mend.
Boeing and Airbus have traditionally been the stars of the aviation trade show, competing for multibillion-dollar Gulf-based airline purchases and hammering out final details minutes before back-to-back press conferences.
This year, however, the five-day exhibition is expected to be more muted than in the past due to the subdued state of flying and travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Rather, the air show's first day on Sunday drew eyes toward defence and military hardware from countries such as Russia and Israel.
The star on the tarmac outside the exhibition hall was Russia's Checkmate fighter jet, which was shown to the press in a custom-built hangar with a display of laser lights bouncing off a mirrored ceiling.
The jet, with a baseline US$35 million price tag, is a less costly competitor to the US F-35, which the UAE has been trying to acquire since formally recognising Israel last year in a deal brokered by the Trump administration.
That sale has slowed under US President Joe Biden.
In a dramatic promotional video, the Checkmate soared through burnt orange skies, blasting away targets in the desert as music blared in the background and a thundering voiceover rattled off the plane's features.
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"The idea was born as we used all the experience that Russia got during its Syria operations and many of the features of the aircraft came from realistic situations that we experienced," United Aircraft Corporation CEO Yuri Slyusar said through a translator at the unveiling.
In Syria's devastating civil war, Russian fighter jets have supported President Bashar Assad's forces.
UAC is a holding company of state-owned Rostec, Checkmate's parent company.
Production of the jet is expected to start in 2025.
More than 100 American companies are also exhibiting at the air show, including defence giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
"We are committed to deepening and strengthening this vital strategic relationship," Sean Murphy, the US Embassy's charge d'affaires, said.
At the opening of the US pavilion, he also thanked the UAE for its help in the US-led evacuations out of Afghanistan.
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China's state-owned defence firm CATIC displayed a range of anti-aircraft missiles, munitions and fighter jets.
Israeli companies displayed their hardware for the first time at the air show following Israel's normalisation of diplomatic ties with the UAE last year.
The state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries company showed off a range of manned and unmanned naval and aerial drones.
Boeing brought its new 777-9 passenger jet from the American city Seattle in the longest flight to date for the aircraft as it undergoes continued tests and awaits regulatory approval.
Boeing says it will be the world's largest and most efficient twin-engine jet.
The Middle East's largest carrier, Emirates, has ordered 126 of the 777X, but the Dubai-based airline has expressed frustration with delays around its delivery, which is not expected before late 2023.
The air show is taking place near Dubai's Al Maktoum Airport, a second and smaller international hub to Dubai's main airport, which is the world's busiest for international travel.
With vaccine rollouts ongoing in many nations worldwide, the airline industry as a whole is recovering from last year's roughly US$138 billion net loss.
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