Highlights from Aero India 2021 by Aerospace Society, BIT Mesra
The 13th edition of Aero India was held from 3 to 5 February 2021 at Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru, Karnataka. As not many foreign aircraft were able to attend this year, there were multiple shows of Indian aircraft. Despite the prevailing pandemic, dignitaries from all over the world came to Bengaluru to attend this event.
Over 16,000 people attended the event physically while nearly 4.5 lakh attended it virtually. Nearly 540 defence and technological firms, including 24 foreign firms participated. About 200 MoUs and agreements were signed during the three-day event. Other major takeaways from this year were 19 Transfer-of-Technologies, 18 Product launches and 32 Major announcements.
Surya Kiran, the aerobatic team of IAF, put up a scintillating show along with Sarang. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that India plans to bring down its defence sector imports by $2 billion by the end of 2022. He also announced that various MSMEs that took part in the event were able to bag orders worth Rs 203 cr. This year also consisted of an Aatmanirbhar Formation Flight of HAL products like LCA trainer, HTT-40, IJT, Advanced Hawk and Do-228. Some of the major headlines from the event were-
- Army variant of HAL’s Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) has received initial op clearance (IOC) certificate.
- The Boeing company announced addition of a new production line at Hyderabad’s Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited, will shift manufacture of complex vertical fin structures for the 737 family of airplanes there.
- India’s new ‘Warrior’ drone, which is a part of the indigenous Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) being developed by HAL along with the private sector, was revealed at Aero India 2021.
- A new model of India’s under development Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF), designed for operations from current and future Indian navy aircraft carriers, was debuted along with the presentations of Tejas Mk.2 and AMCA.
- The Tata group presented Rakshak VTOL, a fully autonomous vertical take-off and landing UAV that takes off like a quadcopter, transitions into fixed wing mode for long distance flight and lands back like a quadcopter.
- The Ministry of Defence signed the nearly Rs 48,000 crore deal with HAL for 83 new Tejas aircraft. The deal will include 73 Tejas Mk 1A and 10 Tejas Trainer aircraft.
- The IAF has handed a request of proposal (RFP) to defence PSU HAL for 70 HTT 40 trainer aircraft to meet its requirements.
- NewSpace, an Indian start-up in collaboration with a state-run defence manufacturer has revealed a solar-powered surveillance drone named Infinity that can remain airborne in the stratosphere for up to 90 days at a stretch.
Participation by dignitaries from nearly 55 countries around the globe signifies the importance and growing engrossment about the Indian aerospace industry. The B-1B Lancer bomber of the US Air Force as well as the new F-15EX prototype also took part in the air show, implying the growing partnership between the two countries. All in all, the air show saw the participation of roughly 41 aircrafts with 63 aircrafts on static display.
Various friendly countries have shown interest in procuring the state-of-the-art products that were on display during the three-day event comprising from military and civil aircrafts to drones and missile systems. This event was the result of the enormous efforts by the engineers and scientists of our nation. President Kovind called the event an ‘unprecedented success’. “The past year has been a time of unprecedented hardships due to Covid-19. Its adverse impacts have been felt in all walks of life over the world. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, I am happy that Aero India 2021 has been organised successfully”- he stated during the validation ceremony, thus concluding this grand event.
Report compiled by Yash Vardhan, Arjun Raj
References:
- https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/aero-india-2021-takes-off-on-wednesday-amidst-covid-buzz-around-aatmanirbhar-bharat-2362091
- http://www.defense-aerospace.com/article-view/release/87874/northrop-expands-in-india,-opens-new-delhi-office.html
- https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/uv-online/aero-india-2021-indian-mro-opportunities-uavs/
