The International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget is among the biggest aerospace exhibitions worldwide and is held once every two years at Le Bourget Airport, located 12 kilometres northeast of Paris. The first local air show was held to coincide with the 1909 Paris Automobile Show.
The 49th International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget will be held June 20-26. In all, 205 official delegations from over 80 countries plan to visit the exhibition, which covers an area of 322,000 square metres. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to open the show on June 20 in line with a long-standing tradition.
The 2011 show will prioritise the expansion of airport infrastructure, aircraft servicing and maintenance, the re-equipment of passenger compartments, and crew training programmes.
The show features the following thematic sections:
- Aircraft construction and assembly
- Space, spacecraft, and satellite telecommunications
- Aircraft engines, aerospace power plants, and related equipment
- Weapons systems
- Pilot & navigation aids
- Airborne equipment and systems
- Cabin interiors
- Composite materials and surface treatment
- Maintenance, product support, and spare parts
- Additional services
- Airport equipment and services.
The show is to involve over 2,000 participants from 44 countries, including Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, India, Italy, Canada, China, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, the United States, Turkey, Ukraine, France, Sweden, South Africa, and others.
Over 140 civilian and military aircraft will be displayed at the show. Most of them will take part in daily demonstration flights. Russian-made aircraft, including the Beriyev Be-200 amphibious aircraft and the Sukhoi Superjet-100 short-haul airliner, will also be displayed. There are also plans to show life-size mock-ups of the Russian-made Irkut MS-21 short-haul/medium-haul airliner's cockpit and cabin. The Ural Optical & Mechanical Plant (UOMZ) will show off its state-of-the-art SMS-831 small-size system for air space monitoring and patrolling.
Russia is expected to display far more exhibits at the current show than in previous years. Organised by the Russian Technologies State Corporation, the national exposition will cover 1,700 sq. m. In all, 56 Russian companies will participate.
A Russian delegation headed by Mikhail Dmitriyev, director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, has been established to ensure Russia's official representation during the International Paris
Air Show 2011 at Le Bourget.