Since 1989, the show has grown from 200 exhibitors and 25 aircraft to 900 exhibitors and more than 100 aircraft this year. The exhibition will showcase 65 chalets and country pavilions from Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Jordan, the Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. A total of 50,000 visitors, including French Defense Minister Hervé Morin, are expected to attend the show.

The Dubai Air Show also will showcase a variety of commercial and military aircraft. The U.S. Air Force will display the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter for its first acknowledged visit to the Middle East. The Raptor is expected to be the star of this year’s show. The 2007 show served as the last international event to display the U.S. Air Force’s F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter before its retirement.

“We are absolutely delighted that the F-22 Raptor will debut at this year’s Dubai Air Show,” Weller said.

Other U.S. Air Force aircraft at the show will include the C-17 Globemaster III transport plane, the WC-130J weather reconnaissance plane, the E-8C Joint Stars ground surveillance plane, the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter and the B-1B Lancer bomber.

Other exhibits will include the Chinese-built Hongdu L-15 fighter trainer, the Hongdu Aviation Industry Group is using the Dubai Airshow to debut its L15 twin-jet trainer in the Middle East.

The jet, which first flew in 2006, is aimed at taking on Western rivals like the Alenia Aermacchia M-346 and Korean Aerospace T-50 in the growing international market for advanced trainer and light attack machines. It’s only other international appearance was in Russia this summer.

 Also on display is the K-8 Karakuram intermediate jet trainer. The aircraft is in the colors of Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, the company that has co-developed the aircraft with Chinese company Nanchang Aircraft.

Aerial acrobatic teams at the show will include the Italian Air Force’s Frecce Tricolori (Tricolor Arrows) flying Aermacchi MB-339 fighter trainers, and the Patrouille de France performing with Alpha Jet trainers.

The élite Patrouille de France aerobatic team are due to open the flying displays at 2 p.m. local time here, to be followed by the Rafale strike fighter.

The high-profile presence of the French tricouleur at the show signals export hopes pinned on the United Arab Emirates, which has said it wants to buy some 60 of the Rafale strike fighters built by Dassault Aviation.

A woman pilot, Maj. Virginie Guyot, will lead the French air display team, making her the first female pilot to lead an aerobatic flying team, the French Air Force said in a statement. The French Patrol flies 10 Alphajet trainers.

In the exhibition halls, the EADS stand will showcase an assortment of exhibits, including a full-scale mockup of an Airbus A350 XWB jumbo airliner cabin and Eurocopter’s 16-seat civilian helicopter, the EC175.