PARIS, France (Reuters) – The 52nd Paris Air Show on Monday unveiled products by 2,300 firms in over 50 countries, including some new models from China. French President Emmanuel Macron was present at the opening session of the air show at Bourget.
Amid various civil and military aviation products, China’s home-grown aircrafts drew spotlights. Also on show are civilian aircraft, warplanes, drones and military hardware from other countries.
The high-profile event is expected to attract 350,000 visitors.
The French president landed at the Bourget airport north of Paris in an Airbus A400M turboprop transporter. The opening session featured stunts by the Patrouille de France aerobatic team, demo flights by the F-35 stealth fighter jet of the U.S. Air Force and a show by French Air Force’s Dassault Rafale fighter jet.
Present at the ongoing air show are 15 Chinese companies, led by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac).
China also displayed its fourth-generation stealth fighter jet the J-31 Gyrfalcon, along with its Wing-Loong II reconnaissance and strike drone.
Chinese civilian aviation industry also grabbed abundant attention since its first indigenous large passenger jet C919 made its maiden flight last month. In Paris, Comac is displaying a wide-body long-range aircraft jointly developed by China and Russia.
“It is the first time for us to exhibit this wide-body long-range product overseas. We founded a joint venture with our Russian counterparts last month in Shanghai. Now our project has ushered in a new phase of development. This craft is designed with 280 seats with a flight range of 12,000 kilometers, which means it is capable of intercontinental passenger transportation,” said Dang Tiehong, deputy director of sales and marketing under Comac.
The Paris Air Show has launched an innovative air lab for both professionals and the general public. The lab reveals a host of the most recent products and technologies by both industrial giants and startups. A series of events like the International Rocketry Challenge and the Career and Training Forum will kick off during the air show week.
The Paris Air Show is one of the world’ s biggest and most prestigious expos for the aviation industry. The biennial event was first held in 1909.
