- Aero India 2023, Asia’s biggest aero show to showcase New India’s growth & manufacturing prowess.
- Aim is to create a world-class domestic defence industry to achieve the goal of self-reliance in defence production, said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during curtain raiser of Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru on February 12, 2023
- Inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bengaluru on 13th February
- 809 companies to showcase the India’s aerospace & defence capabilities during the five-day event.
- 32 Defence Ministers & 73 CEOs of global & Indian OEMs likely to participate
- Defence Ministers’ Conclave; CEOs Round Table; LCA-Tejas aircraft in Full Operational Capability configuration at India Pavilion & breath-taking air shows to be part of this 14th edition; 251 MoUs, worth Rs 75,000 crore, expected to be inked
The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed a press conference during curtain raiser of Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru on February 12, 2023. He said, aim is to create a world-class domestic defence industry to achieve the goal of self-reliance in defence production.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 14th edition of Asia’s largest aero show –– Aero India 2023 – in Bengaluru, Karnataka on February 13, 2023.
Spanning over five days, the event, on the theme ‘The runway to a billion opportunities’, will radiate the rise of a strong & self-reliant ‘New India’ by displaying India’s growth in aerospace and defence capabilities. The focus will be on showcasing indigenous equipment/technologies and forging partnerships with foreign companies, in line with ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ vision for a secure and prosperous future.
The event comprises a Defence Ministers’ Conclave; a CEOs Round Table; Manthan start-up event; Bandhan ceremony; breath-taking air shows; a large exhibition; India Pavilion and a trade fair of aerospace companies.
Organised at Air Force Station, Yelahanka in a total area of around 35,000 sqm, the event, the biggest-ever till date, is likely to witness the participation of 98 countries. The Defence Ministers of 32 countries, Air Chiefs of 29 countries and 73 CEOs of global and Indian OEMs are expected to attend the event. Eight hundred and nine (809) defence companies, including MSMEs and start-ups, will showcase the advancement in niche technologies and the growth in aerospace and defence sector.
The major exhibitors include Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industry, BrahMos Aerospace, Army Aviation, HC Robotics, SAAB, Safran, Rolls Royce, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and BEML Limited. About five lakh visitors are expected to attend the event physically and many millions more will connect through Television and internet.
Aero India 2023 will showcase design leadership, growth in UAVs Sector, Defence Space and futuristic technologies. The event aims to promote export of indigenous air platforms like Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas, HTT-40, Dornier Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). It will integrate domestic MSMEs and start-ups in global supply chain and attract foreign investments including the partnerships for co-development and co-production.
Rajnath Singh emphasised that Aero India 2023 will provide a renewed thrust to the Government’s efforts to create a vibrant and world-class domestic defence industry in order to achieve the goal of self-reliance in defence as well as overall development of the nation. “A strong and self-reliant defence sector will play a pivotal role in helping India emerge as one of the top three world economies in the times to come. Achievements in the defence sector provide wide spin-off benefits to the Indian economy. The technologies developed in the field are equally useful for civilian purposes. In addition, a temperament towards science & technology and innovation is created in the society, which helps in the overall development of the nation,” he said.
He will host Defence Ministers’ Conclave on 14th February. Defence Ministers of friendly foreign countries will participate in the meeting, which has been organised on the theme ‘Shared Prosperity through Enhanced Engagements in Defence (SPEED). The conclave would address aspects related to deepen cooperation for capacity building (through investments, R&D, joint venture, co-development, co-production and provisioning of defence equipment), training, space, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and maritime security to grow together.
On the side-lines of Aero India 2023, a number of bilateral meetings will be held at the levels of Defence Minister, Chief of Defence Staff and Defence Secretary among others. The focus will be on bolstering the defence & aerospace ties with friendly countries by exploring newer avenues to take the partnership to the next level.
The ‘CEOs Round Table’, under the chairmanship of the defence minister will be held on 13th February on the theme ‘Sky is not the limit: opportunities beyond boundaries. It is expected to lay the foundation of a more robust interaction between the Industry Partners and Government with an eye on bolstering the ‘Make in India’ campaign. It is further expected to increase ‘Ease of doing business’ in India and provide a favourable platform to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for manufacturing in India.
The Round Table will witness participation from officials, delegates and global CEOs from 26 countries including global investors such as Boeing, Lockheed, Israel Aerospace Industries, General Atomics, Liebherr Group, Raytheon Technologies, Safran, General Authority of Military Industries (GAMI) etc. Domestic PSUs like HAL, BEL, BDL, BEML Limited and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited will also participate. Premier private Defence and Aerospace manufacturing companies from India such as Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge, Dynamatic Technologies, BrahMos Aerospace are also likely to be part of the event.
The Bandhan ceremony, which witnesses signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs)/Agreements, Transfer of Technologies, Product Launches and other major announcements, will be held on February 15th. Two hundred and fifty-one (251) MoUs, with an expected investment of Rs 75,000 crore, are likely to be signed for partnerships between various Indian/foreign defence companies and organisations.
The annual defence innovation event, Manthan, will be the flagship technology showcase event to be held on 15th February. Being organised by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), the Manthan platform will bring the leading innovators, start-ups, MSMEs, incubators, academia and Investors from defence & aerospace ecosystem under one roof. Manthan 2023 will provide an overview on the future vision/next initiatives of iDEX to galvanise the start-up ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in the defence sector.
The ‘India Pavilion’, based on ‘Fixed Wing Platform’ theme, will showcase India’s growth in the area, including the future prospects. There will be a total of 115 companies, displaying 227 products. It will further showcase the growth of India in developing an ecosystem for Fixed Wing platform which includes the demonstrating of various structural modules, simulators, systems (LRUs) etc. of LCA-Tejas aircraft being produced by Private Partners. There will also be a section for Defence space, New Technologies and a UAV section which will give an insight about the growth of India in each sector.
A full scale LCA-Tejas aircraft in Full Operational Capability (FOC) configuration will be at the center stage of India Pavilion. LCA Tejas is a single engine, light weight, highly agile, multi-role supersonic fighter. It has quadruplex digital fly-by-wire Flight Control System (FCS) with associated advanced flight control laws. The aircraft with delta wing is designed for ‘air combat’ and ‘offensive air support’ with ‘reconnaissance’ and ‘anti-ship’ as its secondary roles. Extensive use of advanced composites in the airframe gives a high strength to weight ratio, long fatigue life and low radar signatures.
A number of seminars will be held during the five-day event. The themes include ‘Harnessing Potential of Ex-servicemen for Indian Defence Industry; India’s Defence Space Initiative: Opportunities for shaping Indian private space ecosystem; Indigenous development of futuristic aerospace technologies, including aero engines; Destination Karnataka: US-India defence cooperation innovation and Make in India; Advancement in maritime surveillance equipment and assets; sustenance in MRO and Obsolescence Mitigation and achieving excellence in defence grade drones and self-reliance in Aero Armament Sustenance.
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