Over 131,000 square meters of covered exhibition space and 192,000 square meters of static display area; more than 2,000 exhibitors from 48 countries; 142 aircraft on display and over 42 in flight demonstrations; 380,000 public  visitors. These are just some of the impressive numbers that present one of the most famous and prestigious airshow-exhibitions of the world: the 48th International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget.

This is the place where all big aerospace companies come to showcase their newest products. Unfortunately the “news” of this year could be counted on the fingers of one hand. Russia’s Sukhoi introduced a new small airliner, the “Superjet RRJ-95LR.” Airbus showed two A380s. Boeing demonstrated its F/A-18F Super Hornet. Finmeccanica-Aermacchi of Italy showed off its new military jet trainer, the M346. Finally, France’s own Dassault Aviation presented on flying and static display the Rafale direct competitor to the English-Spanish-Italian-German EFA2000 Eurofighter Typhoon.

This year, the show’s 100th anniversary (the show is generally held every-other year) was celebrated with flight demonstrations from about 30 older aircraft, reminders of the years from 1909 to 1960 like the AD4-N Skyraider, B-17 Flying Fortress, Curtiss 75H Hawk, Junker 52, Lockheed Constellation L1049, Mirage III, MS406, and Yak 3.

The United States military was represented by the C-130J, C-17 Globemaster III, C-2A Greyhound, E-2C Hawkeye 2000, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18F Super Hornet, and HH-60G Pavehawk. A much-awaited appearance by the F-22 Raptor was cancelled by the USAF due to operational requirements.

At the end of the show there was an exhibition of the French military forces with their best and newest machines, Rafale and Tigre, and a display by the Patrouille de France in honor of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who was in attendance at the show.