Cmdr. Giuseppe Lai, commanding officer of the Italian Navy’s FREMM-class frigate Carlo Margottini, and anti-submarine warfare officer Lt. Riccardo Rossi, discuss their ship’s capabilities, specifications, special features and much more during a wide-ranging, March 2018 interview and ship tour with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian. The interview and tour were conducted during the 2018 Doha International Maritime and Defence Exhibition and Conference in Qatar, where our coverage was sponsored by DIMDEX 2018. The Margottini is a sister ship of the Alpino, which is visiting Boston, Baltimore, New York and Norfolk this month to showcase its capabilities to US Navy leaders as they assess proposals for a new multi-mission frigate. Co-developed by Italy and France, the Fincantieri dream is built by Fincanteri, which is competing for the US frigate award against variants of the two littoral combat ships now in Navy service —  one by Lockheed Martin with Fincantieri and the other by Austal with General Dynamics — a design by Huntington Ingalls and an American version of Spain’s F100 frigate being bid by a team composed of GD’s Bath Iron Works with Spain’s Navantia. The visit aboard Margottini came before Fincantieri and Huntington Ingalls Industries sponsored our coverage of the Navy League’s recent Sea-Air-Space conference and trade show. 

Petri Jokinen, head of MENA business at Patria, discusses product demand in the Middle East, business priorities in the Qatari market, customer feedback and more in a March 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2018 Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) in Qatar. Our coverage was sponsored by DIMDEX 2018.

Lt. Col. Danny Lambert, USAF, a B-52 Stratofortress bomber weapons systems officer who is the director of operations for the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, discusses how the unit’s mission and payloads are evolving, delivering close-air support, systems upgrades and what makes the B-52 such a unique aircraft during a March 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian in Qatar. The 69th is headquartered at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, but currently deployed to Al Udeid. Our coverage was sponsored by DIMDEX 2018.

Col. Jeff Schreiner, USAF, a B-2 Spirit bomber pilot and vice commander of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing — also known as the Grand Slam Wing — at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, discusses the wing’s aircraft, capabilities, innovation efforts, changing nature of Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan missions, preparing for the arrival of B-1 bombers and more during a wide-ranging, March 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian, recorded at the base. Our coverage was sponsored by the 2018 Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX).

Vice Adm. Andy Winns, USN Ret., Lockheed Martin’s regional executive for the Middle East and Africa, discusses customer feedback, the regional market prospects for the company’s Multi-Mission Surveillance Combatant ship and the F-35 Lightning II fighter, the challenges of indigenous defense development and more in a March 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2018 Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) in Qatar. Our coverage was sponsored by DIMDEX 2018.

Gene Cunningham, vice president for global sales at Boeing Defense, Space & Security, discusses his priorities at the 2018 Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) for Qatar and the greater Mideast region, the KC-46 tanker’s delivery timeline and market prospects, and much more in a wide-ranging, March 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at DIMDEX 2018. Our coverage was sponsored by DIMDEX 2018.

Brig. Gen. (Sea) Tariq Al-Obaidli, Qatar Emiri Naval Forces, the head of Qatar’s international military cooperation authority, discusses how the 2018 Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition & Conference fits into his strategy, his priorities for international defense cooperation, the four-country blockade against Qatar, the country’s strategic relationship with Turkey, Israel, Iran and more during a wide-ranging, March 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at this year’s event. Our coverage was sponsored by DIMDEX 2018.

Fleur Thomas, a regional director with UK Department for International Trade Defence & Security Organization, discusses the UK security interests that UK DIT DSO worked to advance at the 2018 Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference in Qatar, the outlook for UK defense exports — including the Type 26 and 31 frigates — in the Gulf region and more during a March 2018 interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at this year’s event. Our coverage was sponsored by DIMDEX 2018.

Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, PhD, Qatar’s deputy prime minster and minister of state for defence affairs, responds to the international political criticisms that triggered a four-nation blockade against the country, the resulting crisis and how it’s shaping Qatar’s diplomatic strategy, the Iran nuclear deal’s potential dissolution, Al Udeid Air Base, modernization and more during a March 13, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at the 2018 Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX). Our coverage is sponsored by DIMDEX 2018.

Staff Brig. (Sea) Abdulbaqi Al-Ansari, Qatar Emiri Naval Forces, chairman of the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition & Conference (DIMDEX) 2018, discusses the event’s history, growth, role and significance amidst a four-country blockade of Qatar by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, how the Qatari Armed Forces are working to absorb new technology and more during a March 12, 2018, interview with Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian at this year’s event. Our coverage was sponsored by DIMDEX 2018.