The exhibition began in 1986, every two years, held every single year.

The Middle East will need nearly 3,000 commercial aircraft and 64,000 pilots over the next 20 years to accommodate growth. Defense spending in the Middle East is expected to reach $117 billion per year by 2023, as the region leads the world in per capita spending and GDP. As the Middle East economy becomes more and more important in the world, the Dubai Airshow is growing in popularity and scale, and has now grown into one of the three largest air shows in the world. Boeing, Saab, Airbus, Dassault, Safran, Thales, DIEHL, MSI, Brahmos, Roketsan, Havelsan, Vestel, Lockheed, United Airlines, Alda Aetna, Reshetnev, Lufthansa, Raytheon, MBDA, Bell Helicopter, PILATUS, CLICK Aviation, P &W, Rockwell Collins, OSHKOSH, CUBIC, L3, Orbital, EARTH, FLIR, HCT, TAQNIA ANTONOV, ALSALAM, EDGE, ABU Dhabi Airlines, AEC, MEBAA, CAE, AAR, SAFAT Aviation, EDIC, SAC, PAL, KAWASAKI, Panasonic and other global giants gathered. At the outdoor exhibition, the United States brought F-22 fighters, Apache attack helicopters, V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, B-1b Lancer bombers and many other heavyweight models. Russia is displaying equipment such as Su-35 fighter jets. There are also Airbus, Gulfstream and other business jets.