In a manly sort of way, believe it or not.
The City of Lights is several times more expensive than it was back in the late eighties, it is even more overrun with pickpockets, but a 12-year reign by one of the more contrarian European heads of state has come to an end. Everyone asks now if France can restore its former glory, patch up its relations with Washington, and address the social dislocations that cause increasing strains with its Muslim population.But most of these developments pale in comparison to how much the Le Bourget air show has changed since I first saw it twenty years ago. Called simply “the Paris Air Show” by most of those who attend it, the biennial aerospace extravaganza (officially, the Salon international de l’aéronautique et de l’espace de Paris-Le Bourget) symbolizes the long, distinguished history of aviation in France by being held at the same Le Bourget aerodrome where Charles Lindbergh landed after his 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. Louis.
And so began the WWS Team’s painfully awesome coverage of this year’s world renowed aviation expo. There’s a ton of articles on the various exhibits, so visit their June archives if you’re thirsty for the whole shebang.
Here’s what caught my eye:
First Impressions (with uber-nerdy Chicom leadership!)
And this interview with Senator James Inhofe was phenomenal:
Inhofe stopped himself as he was about to say that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter would allow the United States to maintain its air superiority, instead saying that “a lot of people don’t realize, but during the 1990s–the drawdown during the Clinton administration–we cut back on modernization. In fact, I was so proud of [former Air Force chief of staff] General Jumper (VMI class of 1966, sends John), who had the courage to stand up in 1998 and admit that the Su series that the Russians were making were superior to our best strike fighters in some ways…so the F-22 and the Joint Strike Fighter are going to put us back [on top], unquestionably.On F-22: “I think we need to get the numbers up.”
Inhofe said that “we do need to have the F-22 [production numbers] enhanced, as well as the Joint Strike Fighter, as well as the C-17–our lift capabilities are more strained than they have been [at any time] in the history of the United States…[when the C-17 program got first started] we never dreamed we’d have Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and all the lift needs that we have today. So our deficiency isn’t only in strike vehicles.”
Yeah, we need to modernize. And it’s hard not to justify the spending when you consider that A) our entire total force strategy is built on the cornerstone of air supremacy and B) our current defense budget is at one of its lowest points in history. Don’t believe me? Then take a peek at this important looking graph courtesy of the Standard:
The pictures rock, btw.
Oh and on the topic of booth babes, and how no respectable expo is complete without em? Yeah, the Standard –in all their tireless effeciency– has that angle covered as well:
Worldwide Standard’s June archives is where you’ll find the rest.
