Israeli Companies Banned: Air Show 2025 Kicks Off in Paris

The Air Show has started in France, showcasing the latest defense solutions in aviation and air defense.

The event is taking place from June 16 to 22 at Paris-Le Bourget Airport — one of the most prestigious venues in the global aerospace industry.

According to the Polish publication Defence24, whose correspondents are on-site, special attention this year is focused on drone technologies.

“This year, special importance is given to the presentation of the solutions for the defense sector — not only combat aircraft and their weaponry but also unmanned systems and air defense means,” states the Defence24 review.

However, a scandal has already erupted around the event: the organizers have banned the participation of several of Israel’s largest defense companies.

The French side closed the booths of four leading Israeli weapons manufacturers — Elbit Systems, Rafael Advances Defense Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and UVision Air.

The reason for this decision was France’s demand to remove the samples of “offensive and kinetic weapons” from the exhibition.

The ban specifically affected laser systems such as Iron Beam, Iron Beam-M, and Lite Beam, which are designed to destroy drones. It is known that the Iron Beam system has an effective range from several hundred meters up to several kilometers.

Rafael Advances Defense Systems had also planned to showcase air-to-air missiles and the ROCKS ballistic missiles. Additionally, IAI was set to present the Arrow and Barak MX air defense systems; however, these solutions were also excluded from the exhibition.

At the same time, Chinese aviation, including fighters and other aircraft, was allowed to participate in the Paris show.

China will showcase some of its advanced military and civilian aircraft, including the J-20, J-35A, and J-10CE fighters, as well as the AG600M amphibious firefighting aircraft.