Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 10th Aero India show at the Yelahanka Air Force Station, Bengaluru. Modi has asked defence contractors winning bids to supply India not only the equipment but also the technology behind the equipment.
Modi said he wanted Indian made equipment to account for 70% of the procurement budget within the next five years, up from the current 40%, in what he said would be a major boon to the economy. Modi declared Aero India 2015 as Asia’s largest air show. He also used the occasion to make a pitch for “Make in India” programme. The Prime Minister called on the international defence firms to set shop in India so that the country becomes part of their global supply-chain.
The Aero India Show is organized by Defence Exhibition Organisation under the aegis of Ministry of Defence. The first edition of the air show was held in 1996.
India would have on display its indigenously developed Tejas single engine aircraft, after decades of development.
The display includes,
- US – one C-17 Globemaster III
- Boeing KC-135 tanker
- F-15C Eagles
- F-16C Fighting Falcons
- P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft.