Held at the 7 November Sport Complex at Rades, just a few kilometers outside Tunis, ASSISTEX III was supported by the Government of Tunisia. Assistance to exhibitors in complying with Tunisian Customs procedures and equipment security & transportation was provided by the Ministry of Defence, and special thanks from Argon go to the officers dedicated to our help under the direction of Col. Maj. Salem Machghoul and Capt. Nabli.
The equipment manufacturers' exhibition was located at the rear of the smaller multi-sports arena, with the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) constructing the largest display stand, whilst other exhibitors included AirBoss (Canada), Airsense (Germany), Bleucher (Germany), IB Consultancy (Netherlands), Christianni (Italy), Environics (Finland), Karcher (Germany) and New Pac Safety (Sweden).
Although the exhibition itself was effectively shortened by a re-scheduling of the ASSISTEX exercise programme, Argon demonstrated the capability to project a simulated chemical plume over a distance of more than a kilometer across the stadium complex to activate alarms on AP4C-SIM and LCD-SIM simulation instruments using the PlumeSIM system. Small 'hot spots' of simulated chemical release and radioactive material were also located in the vicinity of the Argon exhibition stand to provide an 'immediate threat' using a combination of PlumeSIM and our traditional ultrasound simulation sources.
The final day of the event saw official delegations that included the Tunisian Minister of Defence, the British Ambassador and the British Defence Attache visit the Argon stand. We were also delighted to receive questions and requests for further information from knowledgeable personnel from the Danish Emergency Management Agency, French Army and Air Force, Indian Army, Indian National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Serbian Armed Forces, South African Armed Forces, Spanish Army and the Tunisian Armed Forces.
