Virtual Aero-India 2021 held for Sri Lankan Armed Forces

Navigating through the pandemic year of 2020, India is taking the lead in organising an international platform for the world Aerospace and Defence leaders to exchange ideas and forge partnerships towards synergising their efforts through Aero-India 2021.

Aero-India 2021, the biennial air show cum defence exhibition is organised by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India at Bengaluru from 3-5 February.

Aero India is the largest air show in Asia which attracts a large number of exhibitors from the world’s leading industries in the field of Military and Civil Aviation, Aerospace, Airport Infrastructure and Defence Engineering.

The show includes both air displays and static exhibitions of a plethora of military platforms. Aero India has carved a niche for itself globally as a premier aerospace exhibition with 12 successful editions organised since 1996 at Bengaluru.

The previous edition of Aero-India in 2019 had witnessed participation from 60 countries with 600 Indian and 200 foreign companies propelling Prime Minister Modi’s vision of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’.

Today, the Indian Defence industry has a vibrant ecosystem and manufactures several aero platforms ranging from fighter aircraft like Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas), helicopters like Advanced Light Helicopter (Dhruv), Light Combat Helicopter, Light Utility Helicopter and Maritime Patrol Aircraft like DO-228.

This showcases India’s potential to become a reliable supplier of defence equipment to many of its friendly nations, towards strengthening India’s strategic partnerships with an assurance of long-term support.

India’s vision for Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), as articulated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, essentially requires close cooperation and engagements amongst countries in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Thus, on the margins of Aero-India 2021, to gain from the presence of high-level dignitaries and Ministers from friendly nations, Chief of Air Staff, Indian Air Force hosted the Air Conclave on 3 February and Defence Minister of India hosted IOR Defence Ministers’ Conclave on Thursday 4 February.

Chief of Naval Staff, Indian Navy hosted the IOR-Naval Seminar on 4 February and Director General Indian Coast Guard hosted the IOR-Coast Guard Seminar on Friday, 5 February. The conclaves and seminars are initiatives to promote dialogue in an institutional and cooperative environment to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

As part of India’s unwavering commitment towards positively contributing towards Capability Building of Sri Lankan Armed Forces the event was organised through Hybrid mode by the Defence Wing, High Commission of India from 3-5 February at Hotel Taj Samudra.

The event gives the participants of Sri Lankan Armed Forces an opportunity to visualise Aero India (Virtual) 2021 through a virtual platform.The virtual event was attended by political and military dignitaries and the attendees were able to explore state-of-art equipment on display in the virtual exhibition. Further, the IOR conclaves and seminars, would valuably contribute in developing greater understanding about the common security concerns in the region.