Record-breaking number of A350 and A380 aircraft on display at Paris Air Show

PARIS, June 2015. Airbus Group is highlighting a range of commercial and military aircraft, space systems, and emerging technologies at Paris Air Show 2015 this week. To highlight Airbus’ widebody product range and cabin comfort in all classes, more A350 XWBs and A380s are on display than at any other airshow, with four of the efficient passenger aircraft in total.

An A350 XWB of launch customer Qatar Airways are on the static display along with a Qatar A380. Throughout the week, two Airbus test aircraft, an A350 XWB equipped with cabin and an A380, will take part in the flying display. The 2015 Paris Air Show comes just over a decade since the A380 made its first flight, with more than 80 million passengers now having flown on it and one of the aircraft type taking off or landing every three minutes.

The wide portfolio of Airbus Defence and Space are prominently displayed, including military and mission aircraft, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), satellites, and launchers. The A400M new-generation airlifter and mock-ups of the Tanan and Harfang unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be shown on the static display. In the exhibition area, the new European launcher Ariane 6 will be displayed as will telecommunications satellites that demonstrate Airbus Defence and Space’s position as “the world number one in electric propulsion,” officials say. The AstroBus-S Very High Resolution Earth Observation satellite system will also be presented, with the PeruSAT-1 mission.

The product renewal strategy of Airbus Helicopters is being shown, including mock-ups of the H160 and newly certified H145M on the static display while an H175 model is present in the Group Pavilion. The H135, certified in October 2014, and the combat-proven H225M, which was recently preselected by Poland for the test phase of the multi-role helicopter tender, is also on display.

Other combat-proven aircraft such as the NH90 TTH Caiman from the French Army Aviation service are displayed at the NHIndustries booth and performing flight demonstrations every day. The Tiger and a NH90 NFH is on the French General Directorate for Armament’s (DGA) booth. From an innovation point of view, a mock-up of a High Compression Engine (HCE) is presented at the Clean Sky Booth while a Blue Edge blade is on display alongside a scale model of the H160, the first aircraft that will be equipped with these sound reducing and performance boosting blades.

The Airbus Group Innovations global research and technology network showcase a selection of its technological capabilities and upstream concepts. Highlighting this presence is the all-electric E-Fan technology demonstrator, which is participating in flying displays throughout the week. This Airbus Group Innovations-led e-aircraft program are also featured in the Pavilion’s exhibition area, with a full-scale model of the E-Fan 2.0 production version, for which the final assembly line location at Pau Pyrénées Airport in southwest France was recently announced. Also presented will be the “Connected Cockpit,” introducing a new e-aircraft flight deck concept that reduces pilot workload, simplifies operations, and allows flights to be performed with maximized use of on-board electrical energy. In addition, the Airbus Group Experience, a virtual walkthrough of some of the company’s leading products, is an interactive part of the Corporate Technical Office exhibits.