Aero India seminar to showcase aerospace technologies, military products

Organised by DRDO and Aeronautical Society of India, event has attracted about 900 delegates

India will showcase its aerospace technologies and products for military applications on Sunday ahead of the Aero India 2017 air show starting in Bengaluru from Tuesday, said an official on Saturday.

"A three-day international seminar on 'Aerospace: Technology Collaboration and Self-reliance' is being held as a prelude to the 11th edition of the biennial air show where we will showcase technologies and products developed by our defence labs and the aerospace industry," Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman S Christopher told reporters.

The state-run DRDO and its various aerospace arms like Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) have developed technologies and applications for aircraft systems, unmanned platforms, C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), avionics, space and missile systems, propulsion, materials and manufacturing.

Speakers from Airbus, CIAM, Eurojet, GE, Honeywell, Opal-RT, Pulse Electronics, Rolls Royce, Siemens, SAAB and UAC will address the gathering while specialists from Britain, Canada, Germany, India, Russia, Sweden and the US participate in the seminar.

The Indian delegates will represent the state-run research and development centres and organisations such as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Iandian Air Force (IAF), Navy, Army, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

Organised by the DRDO in association with the Aeronautical Society of India, the brain-storming event has attracted about 900 delegates, including 73 speakers from global aerospace majors, technocrats, policy makers, defence experts and students.

"The seminar will provide opportunities for synergetic interaction among aerospace experts from the world over, including scientists, designers, manufacturers, operators and academia. We expect the event to result in collaborative programmes in research, development and manufacture in view of the government's aMake in India' flagship programme for greater indigenisation and self reliance," added Christopher.

Niti Ayog member and senior defence scientist V K Saraswat will inaugurate the seminar on Sunday while ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar will address the delegates on Monday.