Paris — in retrospect

APPARENT at the 31st Salon d'Aeronautique et Spatiale held at Le Bourget was greater military interest than had been indicated for some years. The announcement of the Belgian order for F 16 aircraft added some more controversy to an already tense re‐equipment atmosphere. News of the F 1E which is the French competitor was also prominently available. Making its first Paris Show appearance was the HS Hawk which is the third to be produced with three more due to fly within the next month or so. No less than four Alpha Jets were present, two of these being on static exhibition. The SF 37 reconnaissance version of the Saab Viggen was also present as well as other variants of this aircraft, but as with other types one only was allowed in the air at a time. The most notable exception from the flying programme was the MRCA although good progress has been reported in the test programme now that earlier difficulties have been overcome.