FARNBOROUGH, England — The aviation world is gathered in this suburban London hub for aerospace, attracting attendees to the Farnborough International Air Show to view the cutting edge from the flying industry. Three Snohomish County leaders are also in attendance with the hope to draw business to the greater Everett area.
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA), State Senator, Marko Liias (D-Edmonds) and Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Wendy Poischbeg are all attending the air show which is scheduled to include the exhibit by Boeing of a full-size 777X interior section that was built in Everett.
Larsen, Liias and Poischbeg are part of a 55 person delegation from the state promoting Everett specifically, and Washington in general, as a location for aviation businesses and suppliers.
Bloomberg News reports that Boeing inked orders for 150 planes on the first day of the FIA.
Boeing secured a flurry of deals on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow, pulling in almost 150 orders https://t.co/owkxcnktHA
— Bloomberg (@business) July 20, 2026
Farnborough has hosted its cutting-edge airshow since 1948 after the first powered UK flight took off from an airfield there in 1908, piloted by Colonel Samuel Cody, nearly five years after the historic Wright Brothers flight in December 1903. Farnborough is held every two years alternating with the Paris Air Show.
Farnborough, like Everett, is an aviation town with a focus on the advantage of a skilled labor market. Farnborough’s proximity to Aldershot, home of the British Army, established it as a premier location for aviation research and development.
The town was also at the forefront of turbojet engine development including research and testing for the development of the supersonic Concorde, which revolutionized commercial air travel. Farnborough is now a hub of aerospace fueling the industry for business between manufacturing giants and the supply chain, according to Farnborough International Air Show officials. p
Snohomish County leaders will be promoting Paine Field aviation businesses as part of the four-day airshow through Thursday, according to the Washington delegation, to draw more business investment to Puget Sound.
The Farnborough International Air Show expects 1427 exhibitors from 41 countries this week, 423 commercial, military and space delegations, and over 100,000 visitors hailing from 114 countries.
Boeing will also display an unmanned military defense aircraft, MQ-28 Ghost Bat, which recently flew in a training mission, over the Pacific Ocean, during Exercise Valiant Shield alongside F-35A, F-35B, F-15EX, HC-130, E-3, E-2D, EA-18G, RC-135, and various other joint and coalition aircraft becoming the first and only collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) deployed to a multinational, joint operational exercise, according to the company’s Australian division.
During Valiant Shield 2026 in June, the Australian-developed MQ-28 Ghost Bat integrated with forces from the U.S. Pacific Command to support the U.S. Air Force’s Experimental Operations Unit’s CCA integration objectives.
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat is a stealth, multirole, unmanned combat aerial vehicle under development by Boeing Australia for the Royal Australian Air Force.
The MQ-28 Ghost Bat’s wingspan is 7.3m, length is 11.9m, range, 3700 kilometres and max speed 1080 k.p.h clocking in just below the speed of sound by 154 k.p.h. . It first flew in 2021.
This advancement in aviation propulsion technology at FIA was also reported earlier today.
The biggest story from Farnborough airshow isn’t aircraft orders—it’s propulsion.
For years, “sustainable aviation” was mostly about concepts. This week at Farnborough, it started looking like engineering.
GE Aerospace, NASA and BETA Technologies, flew a modified Saab 340B… pic.twitter.com/iJSViLQW5Q
— Tanya Eves (@tanya_eves) July 20, 2026