Le Bourget, Paris. 16 June 2019. It is Paris Air Show time once again and all roads lead to Le Bourget Airport, the venue of the show. The airport, the metro rail service popularly called RER and hotels in and around Le Bourget are streaming with exhibitors and vistors. An the wait is nearly over. Tomorrow 8.30 AM Paris time the 53rd Paris Air Show will open to aviation enthusiasts, professionals and the huge strength of aerospace and defence industry.
The preparations are nearly over as per the exhibitors and the exhibits both indoors and outdoors all lined up. Despite hovering clouds of 737 Max crashes over Boeing and of A380 closure and A 400M delay over Airbus, the traditional rivals of the world skies have decided to believe in the dictum of Be Positive. In the smaller segment Embraer is coming to the show to celebrates its fifty years of existence, ATR with optimism of regional connectivity taking precedence world over and Bombardier with the optimism of a sure shot market for its latest offering. Japan’s MRJ is all set to show the world that it has an assured market and staunch followig.
The general aviation market is all active after bagging orders at EBACE last month and Pilatus, Gulfstream, Beechcraft, Honda Jet, Dassault Aviation, Embraer, Piper, Cirrus are all ready and waiting.
Helicopters which always attracted attention will be in full strength with Airbus Airbus, Bell, Boeing , Lockheed Martin’s recently adopted baby Sikorsky, Leonardo, Robinson and Kaman. And the Russian Helicopters are all set to launch the ANSAT.
Engine Makers be it Rolls Royce or Safran or MTU or GE or Pratt & Whitney or GE Honda , all have their niche areas to explore and are looking forward to their orders amd capturing new markets.
Led by Thales, Cobham, L3, Rockwell Collins now Collins Aerospace, Esterline and many many more avionics manufacturers are all waiting to get their sure shot customers and slices of cakes with the icing.
The defence market will see the manufacturers of fighter jets from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Gripen, MiG, Sukhoi, Leonardo, Textron, Eurofighter to the host country’s Dassault Aviation and transporters from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Airbus and Rosoborone Export, Choppers from Agusta Wesland, Boeing, Airbus and Textron.
And ofcourse not to forget the huge missile making industry led by the home consortium MBDA followed by American Raytheon, Israelis, Russian, Turkish, Chinese and Lockheed Martin too all will be selling their latest and existing products and technologies to nations in volatile security environments.
MROs both commercial and defence are an ever growing market and each show sees more of them than the last. Training needs form a major industry starting from the global played CAE to the new software and products based companies which are seen to be mushrooming by leaps and bounds. All have come to showcase their wares at Le Bourget.
Naval and land based hardware, software , military technology and ancillary industry are not to be left behind. And like always this air show also has participation fro the likes of Nexter, Singapore Technologies, General Dynamics, Naval Group, Navantia and many more well known and lesser known players exhibiting.
Futuristic technologies and unmanned systems promise to be cynosure of all eyes at the show. Drones for both civil and military applications will be displayed at the show . From Northrop Grumman to small start ups drones have been a subject of passionate interest and research in the industry and will attract attention.
The list is endless and anybody and everybody who has anything to do with aviation is here at the mother of all airshows to buy, sell , market or generally have the presence felt. So as the count down to the show is coming to an end and a week of endless activity, boundless energy and the largest conglomeration of aviation world begins. Welcome to Paris Air Show 2019!
