The Aero India 2021 event, country's premier aerospace and defence exhibition, was inaugurated at Air Force Station Yelahanka in Bengaluru on Wednesday in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 13th edition of the international event, touted as the world’s first-ever hybrid aero and defence show is witnessing participation from top-line global manufacturerers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Dassault Aviation and others. Several aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Army, Navy, and the Coast Guard are also participating in this show. The three-day event is focusing on India's indigenous defence sector capabilities amid buzz around Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India campaigns. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the biannual programme, which is witnessing participation from 601 exhibitors, including 523 from India and 78 from 14 foreign countries, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the event will display the vast potential of India, and the multifarious opportunities that the country offers in the field of defence and aerospace sector. Here is a list of Top 10 aircraft that are being displayed to showcase India's air superiority at Aero India 2021-
1.DASSAULT RAFALE- - The Dassault Rafale literally meaning "gust of wind", and "burst of fire" in a more military sense is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions. The Rafale is referred to as an "omnirole" aircraft by Dassault.
HAL TEJAS- The HAL Tejas is an Indian single-engine, multirole light fighter designed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters. In 2003, the LCA was officially named "Tejas".
SUKHOI 30MKI- The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter.
AEW&CS NETRA- The Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) along with the Indian Air Force (IAF), is a little known success in defence research. The system called Netra which was inducted into the armed forces in 2017 played a ‘behind the scene’ role in the much talked about Balkot surgical strikes in February 2019.
B1B BOMBER- The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It is commonly called the "Bone". It is one of three strategic bombers in the U.S. Air Force fleet as of 2020, the other two being the B-2 Spirit and the B-52 Stratofortress.
HAL RUDRA- The HAL Rudra, also known as ALH-WSI, is an armed version of HAL Dhruv which is designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Rudra is equipped with forward looking infrared and Thermal Imaging Sights Interface, a 20 mm turret gun, 70 mm rocket pods, anti-tank guided missiles and air-to-air missiles.
C-17 GLOBEMASTER- A high-wing, 4-engine, T-tailed military-transport aircraft, the multi-service C-17 can carry large equipment, supplies and troops directly to small airfields in harsh terrain anywhere in the world day or night. The massive, sturdy, long-haul aircraft tackles distance, destination and heavy, oversized payloads in unpredictable conditions. It has delivered cargo in every worldwide operation since the 1990s.
SEPECAT JAGUAR- Jaguar is a twin-engine, ground-attack aircraft designed and developed jointly by Breguet of France (now part of Dassault) and the UK-based British Aircraft Corporation (BAC).
HAWK- Advanced Jet Trainer. The Hawk is a tandem-seat Aircraft for ground attack, flying training and weapon training. It has a low wing and an all-metal structure and is powered by an Adour Mk 871 turbofan engine. The Aircraft has an integrated navigation /attack system and radio and inertial navigation systems
HAL CATS- The technology named Combined Air Teaming System (CATS) will have a mother ship , operating from faraway, and four autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle known as CATS Warrior with a capacity to carry out strike stealthily entering 700 kilometres inside enemy territory. These unmanned aerial vehicles are capable of autonomous functions and will also have all the manoeuvring capabilities.
