The tenth edition of Aero India 2015 held in February was indeed the largest event of this kind in the history of the Indian aviation industry encompassing both the military and civilian regimes. What made the event truly unique was the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Even though there were no mega defence deals in the offing in the regime of aerospace industry, the ‘Make in India’ theme elevated optimism amongst the participants at the exposition both Indian and foreign, to unprecedented levels.

Preceding Aero India, the Business Aircraft Operators Association (BAOA) held its very first BizAvIndia conference to highlight the challenges and opportunities for the General Aviation industry in India. Hopefully, efforts by the BAOA would in due course, help pull General Aviation out of stagnation that it appears trapped in.

The Defence Acquisition Council has approved IAF to procure the second lot of the Pilatus PC-7 Mk II numbering 38. It is a sad commentary on the Indian aerospace industry that it is not able to provide even a basic trainer aircraft in the time frame required, states Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd).

L-3 Aviation Products inaugurated a facility in Bengaluru to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for their avionics products. Although, as per Krishen Ganase, President of the company, it is a small step, but establishment of such a facility is symbolic of the opportunities that are now available after the launch of the ‘Make in India’ campaign.

Welcome aboard and Happy Landings !