Aero India, India's biennial aviation show, returns for the 14th time with the theme, "The Runway to a Billion Opportunities". During the curtain rapier event on the eve of the show, the Defence Minister spoke about India's self-reliance defence prowess that will again come through with Aero India 2022. 98 foreign countries are a part of the show this year and a total number 809 exhibitors are participating at the airshow being held at Air Force Station, Yelahanka in a total area of around 35,000 sqm. in Bengaluru from February 13-17, 2023.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh termed the international participation as the reflection of not just India’s buyer-seller ties with different countries, but also their shared vision of global prosperity.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh termed the international participation as the reflection of not just India’s buyer-seller ties with different countries, but also their shared vision of global prosperity. “Today, when we are on the way to becoming an economic superpower of the world, I believe that the defence industrial sector will play an important role in this. Whatever we achieve in the Defence Industrial Sector, India's economy receives very wide spin-off benefits” the Defence Minister said.

India Pavilion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is inaugurating the show on February 13, 2023. The PM would also be inaugurating the India Pavilion that is to have 115 companies showcasing a total of 227 products including 149 physical displays. The central element at the India Pavilion would be the LCA Tejas Mk I. The Pavilion would showcase fixed wing ecosystems; drones and anti drone technologies; Space technologies that can be used in Defence; and Futuristic technologies by StartUps like AI, Quantum Communication, Robotics, 5G. It will further showcase the growth of India in developing an ecosystem for Fixed Wing platform which includes the demonstration 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. Aero India 2023 will have a separate Karnataka Pavilion which will feature the opportunities available in the state.

The PM would also be inaugurating the India Pavilion that is to have 115 companies showcasing a total of 227 products including 149 physical displays.

The event's goal is to promote air platform exports, with a focus on the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), as well as attract foreign investments, including co-development and co-production, according to Cdr. Achal Malhotra, Director, Defence Exhibition Organisation in the Ministry of Defence (MoD), at the curtain-raiser event.

CEO’s Roundtable

The CEO’s Roundtable; under the chairmanship of the Defence Minister will be held on 13th February on the theme ‘Sky is not the limit: opportunities beyond boundaries. A total of 73 confirmations with 46 Indian OEMs and 27 Foreign OEMs have been received. The Roundtable 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.

A total of 73 confirmations with 46 Indian OEMs and 27 Foreign OEMs have been received for the CEO’s Round Table.

“Our aim is to create a vibrant, and world class domestic defense industry, so that we can achieve the goal of self-reliance in the defense sector as well as the overall development of the nation. This event will also help us to move forward in this path,” Singh added.

SPEED

Defence minister’s conclave, acronymed SPEED, is another important event that will see defence ministers of 32 foreign countries take part. SPEED stands for Shared Prosperity through Enhanced Engagements in Defence. Air Chiefs of 29 friendly foreign countries are also attending the Conclave that aims to address aspects related to deeper cooperation for capability building (through investments, R&D, JVs, Co-developments/Co-production; Provisioning) Training, Space, AI, Cyber Security and Maritime security to grow tpgether.

Manthan

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 would also feature panel discussions on Next Generation Warfare and Deep-Tech.

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. There would also be the launch of innovate4Defence (I4D) internships. Manthan will have many firsts, including launch of challenges on Cyber Security, establishment of iDEX Investor Hub, MoUs with investors including InSpace, ISpA, Banks, RO, etc.

Bandhan ceremony

The Bandhan ceremony, which witnesses the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs)/Agreements, Transfer of Technologies(ToTs), Product Launches and other major announcements, will be held on February 15th. The Raksha Mantri will preside over the event. 251 MoUs, with an expected investment of 75,000 crore, are likely to be signed for partnerships between various Indian/foreign defence companies and organisations.

251 MoUs, with an expected investment of 75,000 crore, are likely to be signed between various Indian/foreign defence companies and organisations during the Bandhan Ceremony.

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 Atmanirbharta in Aero Armament Sustenance.

On the sidelines of Aero India 2023, a number of bilateral meetings will also be held at the levels of Defence Minister, State 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.

As an emerging Aerospace & Defence (A&D) hub, to become ”Atmanirbhar” in Aerospace industry, the country is aiming to achieve a turnover of 175000 crore by 2025 and 35000 crore Export in A&D goods and services.