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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 14th edition of Asia’s largest aero show –– Aero India 2023 – in Bengaluru, Karnataka on Monday the 13th of February, 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.

Addressing the curtain raiser press conference in Bengaluru on Sunday the 12th of February, 2023, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh stated that the Aero India 2023 will showcase the country’s manufacturing prowess and the progress achieved towards realising the Make -in-India concept.

This event will significantly contribute to the development of the aerospace and aviation sector, he said.

 

Biggest-ever Aero India

February 13th to 15th will be business days, while 16th & 17th have been set as public days to allow people to witness the show.

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.

Major exhibitors & equipment

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.

The Ministry of Defence is expecting about five lakh visitors 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.

Defence Ministers’ Conclave

Rajnath Singh 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).

CEOs Round Table

The ‘CEOs Round Table’ will be held on 13th February on the theme ‘Sky is not the limit: opportunities beyond boundaries’.

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.

An unique “Bandhan ceremony” slated to be held on 15th of February will witnesses signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs)/Agreements, Transfer of Technologies, Product Launches and other major announcements.

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.

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.

This time around the Manthan will have many firsts, including launch of challenges on Cyber Security, establishment of iDEX Investor Hub, MoUs with investors etc. 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.

India Pavilion

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.

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.