The Paris Air Show and Military Aviation’s Future

The Paris Air Show and Military Aviation’s Future
The Paris Air Show and Military Aviation’s Future

The Paris Air Show is dominated by the commercial sector, which in terms of market and money is clearly more important than the defense aerospace market. But the simple size of that civilian market is not the most critical consideration. As the aerospace world meets in Paris in 2015, national survival is becoming a more pressing concern…

European Air Power: A Grizzly Outlook

European Air Power: A Grizzly Outlook
European Air Power: A Grizzly Outlook

Douglas Barrie knows aerospace. He was the European mastermind of Defense News when I was editor and now he works for the respected International Institute for Strategic Studies. The core of his job there is analyzing global air power capabilities for IISS’ flagship publication, Military Balance. He’s authoritative. Here he writes about the Paris Air Show and the very uncertain state…

No US Military Planes Will Fly At Paris Air Show; Pakistan’s JF-17 Will

No US Military Planes Will Fly At Paris Air Show; Pakistan’s JF-17 Will
No US Military Planes Will Fly At Paris Air Show; Pakistan’s JF-17 Will

WASHINGTON: At least the US military is attending the Paris Air Show in some force this year, but right now none of the American aircraft pictured below are scheduled to fly at the show. Some 90 US military personnel will be on hand to maintain the aircraft and safeguard them. Here’s the list of military aircraft that…

The F-35 Flies Amid Europe’s Mature Aeronautics Market

The F-35 Flies Amid Europe’s Mature Aeronautics Market
The F-35 Flies Amid Europe’s Mature Aeronautics Market

The F-35 Lightning II European debut in July will be welcome, but it remains the Punch and Judy program of the defense aerospace sector, with boosters and detractors taking turns to bash each other’s argument as to the project’s value — or lack thereof. The debate, though sometime not worthy of the word, has risked…

Will Europe Ever Build Its Own Fifth Generation Fighter?

Will Europe Ever Build Its Own Fifth Generation Fighter?
Will Europe Ever Build Its Own Fifth Generation Fighter?

This year’s Paris Air Show promises to be one of the most lackluster for the defense sector in at least a decade. America is sending virtually no military aircraft to fly the all-important afternoon displays: no F-22s, no F-35s, no C-17s, no C-130s. American companies have scaled back their executives’ participation, not because it saves any…

Mali: France’s Version Of Shock And Awe, Add Allies, Crush AQIM

France has been hailed by the people of Mali for driving al Qaeda-linked thugs from their country. Malians greeted French President Francois Hollande with cheers of Vive la France when he recently visited Timbuktu. But the rebels and al Qaeda are not yet crushed, though they have been forced to cede most inhabited territory. The…

Record-setting X3 Helicopter Shows Off at Paris Air Show

Paris: It’s a helicopter, but it’s not ungainly. It’s a helicopter, but it has two forward-facing propellers. It’s a helicopter but it flies as fast as some planes. It is the X3, a very high-speed helicopter built by European defense giant EADS. It’s already set one speed record, zooming at 279.6 miles per hour (232…