Paris Air Show goes big on defense amid war concerns

PARIS — The Paris Air Show, the biggest event of its kind by number of exhibitors, will feature significantly more defense themes at this year’s edition compared to two years ago, driven by a deteriorating global security situation, the show organizers said.

About 45% of the show will be dedicated to defense and security, a “strong increase” from the previous show in 2023, with the remainder focused on civil aerospace, the general commissioner of the show, Emmanuel Viellard, said at a press briefing here last week by the French Aerospace Industries Association, or Gifas, which runs the event. The week-long show kicks off on Monday.

This year’s edition of the world’s oldest air show comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is in its fourth year, and as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte calls for higher defense budgets to deal with a more dangerous world that includes a threatening Russia and expanding China. European NATO members’ spending plans include more drones, air and missile defense and air power.

In addition, Israel’s strikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities in the early morning hours of June 13 have diplomats and military officials on edge.

“We are in a much more conflict-ridden environment, with increased attention on security issues, and therefore greater activity in the defense sector compared to what we saw in 2023,” Guillaume Faury, the CEO of Airbus and president of Gifas, said at last week’s press briefing.

The event is held every two years at Le Bourget Airport north-east of the French capital, with the French commonly referring to the show as the Salon de Bourget. The first Paris edition was held in the heart of the city in 1909, at the time called the Salon de la Locomotion Aérienne.

Many industry stakeholders see this year’s show as a place to meet military brass, defense ministries and industrial partners “to discuss security issues and prospects for increased defense spending in Europe.” Faury said. Likewise, national delegations and military representatives expect to be able to meet with “all the players in this sector” in Paris, he said.

NATO has singled out air defense as a priority, with Rutte saying earlier this week alliance members need to boost their air and missile defenses fivefold to counter the threat from Russia.

Among this year’s Paris Air Show exhibitors, Raytheon will brief visitors on the Patriot surface-to-air missile system, Diehl Defence will present its IRIS-T system, while other air-defense suppliers signed up for the show include pan-European missile maker MBDA and Norway’s Kongsberg.

Around 200 military delegations will attend the event, according to the organizers. The 2023 edition of the biennial show drew nearly 293,000 visitors, including some 127,000 professionals.

This year’s edition will feature 2,400 exhibitors, including around 1,110 from France, 450 from the United States, 120 from Italy and around 100 from both the U.K. and Germany, the show runners said.

The Paris Air Show will host 83 of the world’s top 100 aerospace companies, compared to 57 for the U.K.’s Farnborough Air Show, said Guillaume Bourdeloux, the CEO of the air show. Visitors will be able to see some 150 aircraft, with flying demonstrations of the Dassault Aviation Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Lockheed Martin’s F-35, as well as other aircraft.

The French Air and Space Force will display an Airbus A400M military transport at the show, and will operate a temporary air base with air and drone defenses to secure the skies over Le Bourget.

The French armed forces exhibit will also include two variants of the Rafale fighter jet including the carrier version, an Airbus Helicopters H225M Caracal tactical transport helicopter and a SAMP/T air defense system fitted with MBDA’s Aster missile.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——巴黎航展是同类展会中参展商数量最多的盛会，展会组织者表示，受全球安全形势恶化的影响，今年的航展将比两年前展出更多国防主题的展品。

展会约45%的展区将聚焦国防和安全领域，较2023年的上一届展会“大幅增长”，其余部分则侧重于民用航空航天。展会总监埃马纽埃尔·维拉尔上周在法国航空航天工业协会（GIFAS）举行的新闻发布会上表示，该协会负责主办此次展会。为期一周的展会将于下周一开幕。

今年的世界历史最悠久的航展正值俄罗斯入侵乌克兰进入第四年之际，北约秘书长马克·吕特呼吁增加国防预算，以应对一个更加危险的世界，其中包括俄罗斯的威胁和中国的崛起。欧洲北约成员国的支出计划包括增加无人机、防空和导弹防御系统以及空中力量。

此外，以色列在6月13日凌晨对伊朗核设施和军事设施的袭击，令外交官和军方官员感到不安。

“我们正处于一个冲突更加激烈的环境中，安全问题也更加受到关注，因此，与 2023 年相比，国防领域的活动更加活跃，”空中客车公司首席执行官兼德国国防工业协会主席纪尧姆·福里在上周的新闻发布会上表示。

该活动每两年在法国首都巴黎东北部的勒布尔热机场举行，法国人通常称之为布尔热沙龙展。首届巴黎展于1909年在市中心举行，当时名为航空运动沙龙展（Salon de la Locomotion Aérienne）。

福里表示，许多业内人士将今年的展会视为与军方高层、国防部和工业伙伴会面的良机，“以便探讨安全问题以及欧洲国防开支增长的前景”。他还说，各国代表团和军方代表也希望能够在巴黎与“该领域的所有参与者”会面。

北约已将防空列为优先事项，鲁特本周早些时候表示，联盟成员国需要将其防空和导弹防御能力提高五倍，以应对来自俄罗斯的威胁。

在今年的巴黎航展参展商中，雷神公司将向参观者介绍爱国者地对空导弹系统，迪尔防务公司将展示其IRIS-T系统，而其他报名参加航展的防空供应商包括泛欧导弹制造商MBDA和挪威的康斯伯格公司。

据主办方称，约有200个军事代表团将参加此次活动。2023年举办的两年一度的军展吸引了近29.3万名参观者，其中包括约12.7万名专业人士。

展会主办方表示，今年的展会将有 2400 家参展商，其中包括约 1110 家来自法国的参展商、450 家来自美国的参展商、120 家来自意大利的参展商以及约 100 家来自英国和德国的参展商。

巴黎航展首席执行官纪尧姆·布尔德卢表示，巴黎航展将汇聚全球百强航空航天企业中的83家，而英国范堡罗航展则有57家参展。届时，参观者将有机会看到约150架飞机，其中包括达索航空公司的“阵风”战斗机、欧洲战斗机公司的“台风”战斗机和洛克希德·马丁公司的F-35战斗机以及其他机型的飞行表演。

法国空军和航天部队将在航展上展出一架空客A400M军用运输机，并将运营一个临时空军基地，配备空中和无人机防御系统，以确保勒布尔热上空的安全。

法国武装部队的展品还将包括两款阵风战斗机（包括舰载型）、一架空客直升机公司的H225M“狞猫”战术运输直升机以及一套配备MBDA公司“紫菀”导弹的SAMP/T防空系统。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。