The docks of war

The big guns of the defence and security industry converge on

’s ExCel Centre this week for DSEi. Defence Systems & Equipment International, to give it its full name, is one of the world’s showcase events for products that you don’t want to be on the wrong end of.

The defence sector is rarely out of the headlines at the moment thanks to the ongoing war in

, claim and counter-claim over quality of equipment and rows over MoD budgets. DSEi reminds us that the industry remains big business for the

, with export opportunities and the chance for smaller firms to join the defence supply chain looming large among the submarines and the armoured vehicles.

DSEi’s delegates will no doubt make full use of the Docklands Light Railway over the next few days. Later this week in Dubai, Serco, the company behind the DLR, will take the wraps off what will eventually become the world’s biggest driverless metro network covering 70km of track. Dubai is notorious for its traffic congestion and the authorities there are hoping the new Metro will ease pressure on the roads. Wags in the Middle East claim that the ferocious recession afflicting the once-booming emirate has already done the job, as thousands of expat workers flee for home, abandoning their cars at the airport as they go.

Andrew Lee, Editor