The Sixth International Conference on Energising Indian Aerospace was attended by senior officers of the IAF, CAPS, CII, strategic analysts, captains of industry, and media representatives from India and abroad

Indian aerospace has a unique opportunity to soar to new heights on the wings of public-private partnerships. This was the buzzword at the Sixth International Conference on Energising Indian Aerospace, held at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on September 22-23, 2011. A joint effort of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the event was attended by senior officers of the IAF, CAPS, CII, strategic analysts, captains of industry, and media representatives from India and abroad.

The conference had four sessions, besides the inaugural and closing forums. At the inaugural session, Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, Director, CAPS, observed, “This is a historic opportunity for industry and technology to play their part in energising Indian aerospace.” Delivering the keynote address, Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, Chief of the Air Staff, IAF, outlined a roadmap for the IAF to develop full spectrum capabilities. “The keywords are partnerships and opportunities,” he said, referring to the need for better synergy between the IAF and industry. Other speakers in the session included Sunil Munjal, Managing Director, Hero Corporation, Ajay Prasad, former Defence Secretary and Secretary, Civil Aviation, and M.M. Pallam Raju, Minister of State for Defence, who gave the inaugural address.

Session I: “Trends in Aerospace Power” was chaired by Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi, former Chief of the Air Staff, IAF and the speakers included Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, Air Vice Marshal Simon Bollom, Director, Combat Air, Royal Air Force, who outlined “Transformational Trends in Aerospace Power,” and Alexander Mueller, Managing Director, RUAG Aerospace GmbH.

Session II: “Vision for Indian Aerospace Industry” was chaired by Air Marshal R.K. Sharma, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam, ACAS (Ops) Space, Air Headquarters, spoke on “Space, the New High Ground: Building Capabilities”. Peter Hoffman, Director, Global Development Strategy, Boeing, said the need of the hour is, “to take the great technologies developed in industry, universities and institutes, and bring them together so that the armed forces could be equipped adequately.” Other speakers were Wing Commander Vishal Nigam, Research Fellow at CAPS, and Pavan Kaula, Managing Director, Zephyr.

Session III: “Aerospace Industry: Strategies for the Decades Ahead” was chaired by Air Marshal V.K. Bhatia, former AOC-in-C WAC, South Western Air Command and Central Air Command. He said there was “no option (for the IAF) but to modernise and augment to face the growing challenges”, both internal and external. “We need to energise our aerospace industry if we are to achieve that goal,” he observed. Air Marshal T.M. Asthana, former Deputy Chief of Air Staff, outlined a roadmap on “Strategic Direction for Defence R&D”, describing “operational pull scoring over technological push.” Peter Gutsmiedl, CEO, Cassidian India, explored “What the Industry Wants: A Foreign Industry Perspective”. Rajendra Velagapudi, Senior VP, Infotech Enterprises, spoke on “Strategies: Indian Engineering Service Providers Perspective,” while Air Marshal S.S. Ramdas, former Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Airlines, illustrated the “Challenges and Prospects” before maintenance repair and overhaul (MROs).