US announces new major air show
- US announces new major air show
By
David Willis
10th November 2026
News
President Trump has announced plans for a week-long American aerospace and technology show he says will rival established European trade events.
The Great American Aerospace and Technology Expo – also known as CAPEWEEK – is expected to be held at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida from March 2028. Details of the event were announced by the US President, Donald J Trump, during a 25-minute speech before around 500 people in the 50,000sq ft Reusable Launch Vehicle Hangar at the Kennedy Space Center on November 6, 2026. The announcement was made at the conclusion of the three-day, invitation-only portion of the UP Summit, which debated the future of transportation.
An artist’s impression of The Great American Aerospace and Technology Expo. CAPEWEEK
Bigger, better, grander…
“When people asked me what exactly we are trying to do here, I said we are going to do a bigger, better and grander version than the Paris Air Show”, said the president, referring to the biannual event held at Le Bourget in France. Unlike the European event, it is planned to hold CAPEWEEK each year.
He went on to say the United States should host the world’s largest air show, covering both commercial aviation and the space industry. According to Trump the project could attract hundreds of thousands of visitors and generate billions of dollars of economic activity.
NASA’s administrator Jared Isaacman, on stage next to the president, said: “America should have a place where the people building the future can come together with the public that inspires and supports them. There are few more fitting places than Kennedy Space Center and the runway where the Space Shuttle returned from orbit. CAPEWEEK will put extraordinary aircraft, spacecraft, technologies, and the people behind them in one place and give hundreds of thousands of visitors a front-row seat to the next era of American innovation.”
CAPEWEEK will take place at the former Space Shuttle Landing Facility, which has a 15,000ft runway. The site is currently owned by Space Florida, a state aerospace development organisation, which supports the plans for the event. According to the event’s website, it will bring “the builders, the funders, the customers and the policymakers” to one place.
American showcase
The inaugural event is due to run from March 27 until April 2, 2028. The first three days will be dedicated to an invite-only Leadership Forum for executives, investors and government officials, while a two-day Industry Days trade exhibition will begin on March 30. The final two days of the event will be open to the public and include displays and flight demonstrations.
Despite its large domestic commercial and defence markets the United States has not hosted a ‘full-spectrum’ aerospace trade show, although many segment specific events occur across the country each year. Among these are the National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition and events held by the military services’ associations, although they do not usually include flying routines and are not generally open to the public.
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The Great American Aerospace and Technology Expo will act as a government-run showcase for American industry, including a mix of cutting-edge technologies. CAPEWEEK is also being promoted as a major international gathering of companies.
CAPEWEEK has a target attendance figure of 500,000 visitors. This is 40% higher than the number of people who visited the 2025 Paris Air Show.
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