20 awesome photos from the Paris Air Show

This week, hundreds of thousands of aerospace professionals, world leaders, civilian plane junkies and journalists will converge on Le Bourget airport, just east of Paris, for the 51st Paris Air Show.

Airbus and Boeing are out in force, trying to coax potential buyers into ordering models of their planes. Other players are on display as well, including Embraer and Bombardier.

This year marks a return for U.S. military aircraft, which did not make it to the last show in 2011, because of sequestration.

The Paris Air Show, the oldest in the world, was first held in 1909 as an extension of the Paris Motor Show, and was quickly made into a standalone event soon after.