DUBAI, 6 December 2003 — The world’s third-largest air show opens in Dubai tomorrow, dominated by the United States, with the participation of the Department of Defense and some 80 private sector companies, led by aviation giant Boeing.

About 550 exhibitors from 36 countries are expected to take part in the 8th International Aerospace Exhibition, which runs until Dec. 11.

The biannual industry gathering was first launched in 1989 and has since gained a higher profile in a bid to rival premier events at Le Bourget in France and Farnborough in Britain.

“More US industry will come to Dubai this year particularly serving the civil sector,” said Clive Richardson, chief executive of UK-based Aerospace Group Fairs and Exhibitions, one of the show’s organizers.

“There will also be (US) Department of Defense participation,” he told a press conference Thursday.

Organizers, which include the UAE’s Department of Civil Aviation and Armed Forces and the Dubai government, say this year’s show will have a 60-40 ratio of civilian to military participation. Of the 13 pavilions at the show, the US one will be the largest, according to organizers.

The world’s aviation leader Boeing Co., whose CEO Phil Condit resigned abruptly Monday amid an ethics scandal, will use the Dubai event to shift the attention of clients and investors to its new 7E7 Dreamliner.

Boeing said Monday the new jet, which will be mostly built in Japan, will “revolutionize air travel” and “maximize passenger comfort.” Unlike any other jetliner, Boeing says the 7E7 is made with 50 percent composites, or manmade materials, resulting in greater comfort, efficiency and speed.

The company says the jet requires 20 percent less fuel than any other airplane of its size and will be one of the world’s fastest airplanes at Mach 0.85, compared with Mach 0.82 for the Airbus A330-200.

Boeing is banking on the new jet to lift its sagging fortunes amid a 31 percent decline in third-quarter profits and fiercer competition from European rival Airbus Industrie.

Airbus consortium, which has signed mega deals with Gulf airlines, will display in Dubai its A340-500, the world’s longest range airliner, which was delivered to its first customer, Dubai’s Emirates Airlines, at the end of October.

Airbus, which is 80-percent owned by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and 20 percent by Britain’s BAE Systems, signed in mid-June at the Paris Air Show a $12.5-billion order with Emirates and another order valued at up to $5.13 billion with Qatar Airways.

On the military side, the United States is also expected to steal the show amid a scaled-down presence by rivals France and Russia.

Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Fighting Falcon and Boeing’s AH-64D Apache Longbow will be among the 23 aircraft taking part in the daily flying displays at the show.

The United States is the prime defense supplier of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries which group Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The six countries combined spent about $37.17 billion on defense in 2001, according to Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments newsletter.

“The magnitude of spending in the future will depend on how they (GCC countries) view their strategic situation after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime,” said Jeremy Binnie, Middle East editor of Jane’s Sentinel.

Military spending by Gulf countries skyrocketed after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, but with the end of Saddam Hussein’s regime many analysts believe governments in the area will assess their spending accordingly.

At the last Dubai Air Show which took place right at the heels of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Emirates airline took the whole industry by surprise announcing aircraft and engine orders worth more than $15 billion, whcih were viewed at the time as a shot in the arm of the beleaguered airline industry.