U.S. no-shows are the news at Paris Air Show

By Gayle S. Putrich - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Jun 18, 2007 6:04:59 EDT

In terms of the U.S. military-industrial complex, the most interesting thing at this year’s International Paris Air Show is what you won’t see there: no F-22 Raptor, no V-22 Osprey, no Boeing tanker.

The decision not to bring the F-22 to the show was made more by the Air Force than manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Air Force officials said sending two of the Langley Air Force Base, Va.-based aircraft to make their European debut would cost between 40 and 50 hours of pilot training.

The air show begins today. Air Force officials did say the Raptor might make an appearance at the Dubai show in November.

Operational concerns were part of the problem in bringing the Marine Corps’ Osprey tilt-rotor to Paris, where it has not been seen in at least eight years. The first operational V-22 squadron is expected to deploy to Iraq in September.

Boeing won’t be showing off its contender in the Air Force KC-X tanker competition, either.

“It’s out doing testing,” said company spokesman Paul Lewis, who noted that the modified KC-767 made a Paris appearance in 2005.

Instead, Boeing will be touting its C-17 Globemaster and emphasizing trans-Atlantic cooperation. Thirteen NATO allies are working out an agreement to buy three or four of the cargo planes.

“It’s not just a question of if an airplane is available to take there,” Lewis said. “It’s not cheap to take a plane to the Paris Air Show.”

Apron space can be tough to come by, he said, especially when your aircraft is 175 feet long and has a 170-foot wingspan.

Boeing also will be showing off F-15 and F/A-18 fighter jets, hoping to attract interest from countries with open fighter contracts such as Japan and India, Lewis said.

Lockheed Martin was expected to be in the mix, touting its popular F-16. “When you look across the board, we’ve got more than 300 active partnerships in 50 countries,” Lockheed aviation spokesman Sam Grizzle said.

The company also will showcase the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, C-130J Hercules tactical transport plane and its US101/EH101 helicopter. The U.S. version, which is slated to become the future presidential helicopter, is by Lockheed, AgustaWestland and Bell Helicopter Textron, while the European EH101 is by AgustaWestland.

Northrop Grumman will be working the international fighter circuit as well, as part of the F/A-18 Hornet team, said spokesman Randy Belote.

Northrop will be touting the new EuroHawk, a version of the Global Hawk UAV designed for the German ministry of defense.

Northrop also will be taking the opportunity to discuss the development of NATO air-ground surveillance systems and the airborne warning and control system upgrade currently in the works for the United Kingdom.

But it won’t be all international, all the time for the Los Angeles-based defense giant.

“There’s an opportunity to reach out to international customers,” he said. “But it’s very convenient to have so many team members, suppliers, potential suppliers all in one place.”

Mortarman11c (6/19/2007)

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That's them Mizz Ippi boyz having fun. The rest of us are fighting the Global War on terrorism!!!!

Besides, it's France. Who gives a shite???