The 2023 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition was held on October 17-19, 2023 and was the largest NBAA-BACE in history, with over 1,000 exhibitors and more than 70,000 attendees from over 100 countries. The event highlighted the industry’s determination to achieve net-zero flight emissions, celebrated the innovators and technology propelling this vision forward, and displayed advancements in sustainable airborne mobility. In addition to its focus on safety and sustainability, NBAA-BACE also showcased the latest and greatest in business aviation products and services, including new aircraft models, avionics, maintenance technology, and more. This issue contains a report by Ayushee Chaudhary with some key highlights from this year’s edition of the NBAA-BACE. Also included is a report by Rohit Goel detailing the ‘Climbing. Fast.’ initiative by business aviation leaders unveiled at the NBAA-BACE 2023. The initiative showcases the business aviation industry’s pioneering work in developing eco-friendly aircraft with ultraefficient engines, the production of sustainable aviation fuels, and the implementation of smarter, more efficient routing.

The Indian Aerospace industry is soaring to new heights, with significant advancements in space exploration, commercial aviation and aerial combat capabilities. This issue explores the diverse landscape of these sectors through a variety of stories. In a significant stride for India’s space programme, following the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon, India launched Aditya-L1, a dedicated satellite designed for an in-depth study of the Sun. Aditya-L1 is India’s inaugural spacebased mission headed to its destination, the Lagrange Point 1 of the Sun-Earth system. A report in this edition looks at Aditya-L1’s journey so far. Further to that, countries have been looking at space defence strategies, and as space emerges as a domain of strategic significance, the space industry in India is also adapting to its expanded role in defence and security. A detailed report by Ayushee Chaudhary in this edition elaborates on the dual use of this domain.

On the aviation side, the civil aviation industry in India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing industries in the country. Both government and private sectors are investing significantly in infrastructure development to facilitate this growth. A report looks at the industry’s market size and underlines some key drivers as well as certain challenges that the Indian aviation industry is facing. In another report, Sanjay Julka also spotlights that the Indian economy and aviation industry are currently going through the Golden Age. He extensively writes about the regulatory changes that are needed for a thriving industry and states that empowering Indian aviation regulators is key to propelling growth. This issue also highlights why DRDO and the DPSUs in India must take the lead and spearhead the responsibility of developing an effective aerospace manufacturing ecosystem in India.

As we look at the future, a report by Joseph Noronha touches upon futuristic weaponry and new arms races – ranging from hypersonic weapons to autonomous drone swarms to directed-energy weapons (DEW), and perhaps many more. Some futuristic weapons are still in the concept stage or in early development, while others are already deployed or are nearing maturity and this report looks at a few of them.

All this and more in this issue of SP’s Aviation. Welcome aboard and we wish you many happy landings!