From October 15-18, the Asia-Pacific region’s only combined CBRNE conference, exhibition, and training event took place in Hua Hin, Thailand. NCT APAC 2024 took place in two separate but intertwined parts: a conference and exhibition at the Sheraton Hua Hin Resort & Spa held in partnership with the Royal Thai Air Force, and live CBRNE trainings a short distance away held in partnership with the Royal Thai Border Patrol.
The former was the 15th such event, welcomed approximately 300 delegates, and took place on October 16-17. The conference consisted of six separate sessions on the most pertinent topics in CBRNE preparedness and response in the region, and day one saw delegates enjoy an opening plenary with distinguished speakers such as:
- AVM. Chanen Sookvaree, Deputy Commander Research And Development Centre For Space And Aeronautical Science And Technology, Royal Thai Air Force (RDC RTAF)
- Col. Nat Kanchanahoti, Director of Division 4, Armed Forces Security Center (AFSC), Royal Thai Armed Forces
- Pol. Maj. Gen. Kamthorn Uicharoen, Commander of Forensic Science Center 7, Royal Thai Police Force
- Brigadier General Fazilah Bin Ibrahim, Chief Engineer, Royal Engineer Regiment, Malaysia Armed Forces
Following the opening plenary, delegates were taken on the traditional NCT Tech Tour during which sponsoring companies presented their latest technologies in CBRNE preparedness and response.

The Tech Tour was followed by two further sessions on “CBRNE Detection and Response: Capacity Building in Asia” and “Public Health Preparedness and Crisis Response”. Among the speakers in these two sessions were:
- 1st Inspector Ilham Fitrah Eka Pratama, 1st Unit Commander, Sub Detachment I, Detachment A CBRN, Gegana Indonesian Police
- Lt. Col. Jonathan Rhodes, Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group Thailand
- Dr. Makoto Akashi, Professor, Tokyo Healthcare University
- Dr. Joy Potenciano-Calayo, Chief Medical Technologist, San Lazaro Hospital, Philippines
Day two saw the conference and exhibition continue, and consisted of three conference sessions on “Emerging Threats in Southeast Asia”, “Emerging Chem/Bio Terrorism in Urban Environments”, and “Comprehensive Management of Hazardous Materials Incidents: Prevention, Mitigation, and Remediation”.
Among the distinguished speakers on this second day of the conference and exhibition were:
- Col. Pakrit Kruanate, Anothai EOD, Royal Thai Army
- MOL Roeup Seyha, Deputy Secretary General, Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority
- Pol. Lt. Col. Jitpong Pubuapuan, Deputy Superintendent of Special Operations Unit, Aerial Reinforcement Division, Thai Border Patrol Police Bureau
- Mr. Chalermsak Karnchanawarin, Honorary Chairman of Responsible Care Chemical Industry Club, The Federation Thai Industries Industry
- H.E. Gen. Phorn Nara, Secretary General, Cambodian National Authority for the Prohibition of Chemical, Nuclear, Biological and Radiological Weapons
The whole two-day conference was chaired by BG (Ret.) William King, Former Commander, U.S. Army 20th CBRNE Command, USA. The conference and exhibition’s silver sponsors included Airsense Analytics GmbH, Booz Allen Hamilton, Bruker Optik GmbH & Co. KG, Heyl, Kärcher Futuretech GmbH, and Kindeva + Meridian Medical Technologies, Inc.

PRO Challenge Live Trainings
Replicating a concept trialled during NCT Europe 2024, for the first time NCT APAC 2024 combined the conference and exhibition with live CBRNE, EOD, and SOF trainings.
A unique concept in which international teams can train on the latest technologies provided by sponsoring companies under the guidance of leading professional CBRNE instructors, PRO Challenge in Thailand welcomed 24 training teams from seven countries, namely Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, USA, and Singapore.
PRO Challenge was sponsored by Heyl, Kärcher Futuretech GmbH, Logos Imaging, Metrohm AG, and Scanna MSC Ltd.

Following four days of intense live CBRNE, EOD, and SOF trainings, PRO Challenge was concluded with a closing ceremony during which the team from the “Gegana” Indonesian National Police were declared the winners of PRO Challenge.
Further information about NCT APAC can be found here, while photos from the conference, exhibition, and training scenarios can be accessed here. Videos will be published on NCT Consultants’ Vimeo platform here, as well as on LinkedIn here.
NCT APAC 2025 will be taking place in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from October 29-30, while next year’s edition of PRO Challenge APAC will once again take place in Hua, Thailand, on December 16-19.

NCT Consultants
The NCT events and trainings are organized by NCT Consultants, a defense and security company with 12 years of international experience, based in Leiden, the Netherlands. The company contributes to warfighters’ and first responders’ missions and capabilities to counter the threats of weapons of mass destruction and mitigate their effects. NCT Consultants connects businesses, governments, and NGOs by providing knowledge and networking, training, and assisting in building global partner capacities and partnerships.
The flagship activities of NCT Consultants are the NCT annual events in Europe, the USA, South America, the Asia Pacific region, and the Middle East. Built on strong cooperation with government partners, the regional NCT events are the leading CBRNE, C-IED, EOD, and demining event series in the world with around 250-400 participants per edition.
NCT Consultants is present in three continents with companies based in the Netherlands, USA, and Singapore, and since October 2024 has a regional office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.