U.S. military showcases mission, aircraft at Paris Air Show

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Amaani Lyle
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
PARIS (AFPN) --  U.S. servicemembers were on hand to offer tours of eight U.S. military aircraft at the 46th Annual Paris Air Show’s official opening June 13.

French president Jacques Chirac attended the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Le Bourget Exposition Park biannual event that allows traders, exhibitors and nonprofessional aeronautical enthusiasts to see and display a variety of aircraft and components. The air show spans more than 60,000 square yards of runway and indoor exhibition space.

Young U.S. servicemembers showed off aircraft for industry professionals, media and engineering students, while providing tours and demonstrations for spectators.

“I am very surprised that I get to see these aircraft so closely,” said Rémy Berets, an aeronautical engineering school student here. “The pilots and crew chiefs were extremely nice and really helped me understand how their aircraft function.”

Smiling at camera flashes from ardent onlookers, Army AH-64D Apache Longbow pilot 1st Lt. Jason Woodward, said he was pleased to see such interest in the DOD aircraft exhibits.

“We have the chance to show people hands-on what they may have only read about or seen on television,” Lieutenant Woodward said. “It’s a great feeling.”

Other servicemembers demonstrated software and digital technology at an indoor exhibit that featured the joint mission planning system, which provides the infrastructure, tools and decision aids for integrated planning of aircraft, weapon and sensor missions.

“We want to show the community as well as our NATO allies some of the ways we provide interoperability,” said Maj. Jefferson Cleghorn, Mission Planning Systems Group’s systems integrations and test division director at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.

The system was showcased at the indoor exhibition while eight military aircraft were on exhibit along the runway. They were an Army AH-64D helicpoter, the Navy F/A-18F Hornet and E-2C Hawkeye, and an Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, a C-17 Globemaster III, C-130 Hercules and the T-6A Texan II. The C-17, C-130, F-16 and T-6A are conducting flyovers throughout the week.

The exhibition is open to the public June 17 to 20. (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service)