ASDA 19 Media Conference
On the occasion of the jubilary fifth Adriatic Sea Defense and Aerospace Exhibition “ASDA 2019”, a media conference was held in Split on 2 April 2019, announcing the Exhibition activities and the programme.
The Conference was attended by the Director of TNT Productions Justin Web, the Special Adisor to the Defence Minister Ivica Ušljebrka, the Assistant Minister for Material Resources Roman Mikulić, the Deputy Commander of the Croatian Navy Comnodore Damir Dojkić, the Prefect of the Split-Dalmatia County Blaženko Boban and Deputy Mayor of Split Jelena Hrgović Tomaš.
The TNT Productions Director Justin Web announced the fifth ASDA would be the largest exhibition so far, with 185 exhibitors of weapons and military equipment from 26 countries and said 33 national delegations from all over the world confirmed to attend.
The Assistant Minister for material resources presented the planned activities within the Exhibition (from 10 – 12 April 2019) and emphasised that ASDA has grown into the largest military equipment and weapons exhibition in the region.
He stressed that ASDA was an opportunity for Croatian weapons and military equipment manufacturers to meet with the officials of the leading international companies in the trade. and potential clients worldwide and with representatives of defence and security institutions representatives, and to exchange ideas and agree modalities for co-operation. The Assistant Minister announced the novelty at ASDA 19 – a panel discussion titled “The Croatian defence industry and new technologies”.
The panel discussion will be held on 11 April, gathering the representatives of the Ministry of Defence, of TNT Productions, of the Croatian Chamber of Economy, of DOK-ING of HS PRODUKT, of the Lockheed Marin Corporation, of the Saab Group, of SIBAT,and of the Šestan-Busch Company.
The Deputy Commander of the Croatian Navy Commodore Damir Dojkić said the Croatian Armed Force organised a static display of the weapons and equipment used by the Croatian Armed Forces in the Barracks “Fleet Admiral Sveto Letica – Barba” in the Lora Navy Port in Split for the duration of ASDA for the duration of ASDA (10-12 April).
The interested visitors will have an opportunity to see the Kiowa Warrior helicopters of the Croatian Air Force, the M-84 tank, the Panzer Howitzers, the Patria AMVs and MPAP vehicles, the Remus 100 autonomous underwater vehicle, the mobile coastal launcher, the countermine di vers equipment, the infantry weapons, an expedition camp and the like.
Commodore Dojkić je also announced the traditional demonstration of the attained military capabilities of joint operation of air, special and naval forces „the demonstration will also showcase the interdepartmental coordination in the control and protection of the interests of the Republic of Croatia at sea and the readiness to provide an effective response to security threats by implementing NATO procedures”. Cdre Dojkić announced the demonstration engaging the vessels of the Croatian Navy and aircraft of the Croatian Air Force and the special forces. The ASDA programme is also to feature the display of flying capabilities, (the flypast by the “Wings of Storm” Aerobatic Team and by SAAB Gripen of the Hungarian Air Force and by SEAHAWK helicopters of the U.S. Air Force. Commodore Dojkić stressed the engagement of the new patrol vessel of the Croatian Coast Guard (“Omiš”) and of the Marine Company of the Croatian Navy, to display their capabilities.
The Prefect of the Split Dalmatia County Blaženko Boban said ASDA was a highly important exhibition contributing to the overall economy of the Split – Dalmatia County. “Security and Tourism are two highly compatible branches of economy”. The Prefect also underlined the connection between the Croatian Armed Forces and the people, and said the Exhibition was an opportunity for the citizens to familiarise with defence industry products, the market supply and the assets used by the military as a guarantor of their security.
Deputy Mayor of Split Jelena Hrgović Tomaš shared the satisfaction over Split hosting the important exhibition and receiving a large number of foreign visitors and the economic benefit of it, and underlined the importance of the connection between the citizens and will have an important effect on the economic development of the town. The Deputy Mayor underlined the importance of the connection between the citizens and the armed forces as the guarantor of security.
ASDA
The fifth Adriatic Sea Defense & Aerospace Exhibition and Conference (ASDA)- the international exhibition of weapons and military equipment is taking in Split (the Spaladium Arena) from 10- 12 April 2019, under the auspices of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and with the support of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia..
The ASDA as the largest military equipment and weapons exhibition in the region is organised by the U.S. TNT Production Inc.,a firm specialised in organising fairs of the kind. ASDA has become a traditional event and found its place among the international military exhibitions.
The ASDA 2019 is to host 185 renowned exhibitors of weapons and military equipment and of other defence-related services – 110 foreign exhibitors (among whom Lockheed Martin Corporation, BELL, SAAB AB, Thales, Rafael, Elbit…) and 75 Croatian exhibitors respectively (Agencija Alan d.o.o., HS Produkt d.o.o., Đuro Đaković d.d., Kroko d.o.o., Šestan Busch d.o.o., Brodosplit d.d., INsig2 d.o.o., Dok-Ing d.o.o., Pomorski Centar Za Elektroniku d.o.o….)
As many as 33 national delegations and defence and security-related institutions have announced the arrival, among whom the defence ministers of the Philippines, Georgia, Kosovo, Slovenia, Bosnia i and Herzegovina,Montenegro, North Macedonia and chiefs of general staffs of Hungary, Ukraine and Kosovo.