Bengaluru. Curtains came down on the three business days of Aero India 2025, the 15th edition and the largest till date, at Air Force station Yelahanka in Bengaluru on February 12 with the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) being in the spotlight and the sleek Russian SU-57 fifth generation fighter jet winning laurels with its aerial manoeuvres. While a number of announcements were made and deals signed, the biggest takeaway was the encouraging news from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) that the supply chain issue with American-engine maker General Electric it was grappling with, delaying engine deliveries, has been resolved and that the 12 LCA-Mk1A jets will be delivered to the Indian Air Force (IAF) this year even as three LCA-Mk1A performed during the inaugural ceremony.
Aero India 2025 was spread over a total area of over 42,000 sq m and with participation of 931 exhibitors, including 150 foreign companies, making it the biggest till date. The last edition saw 809 exhibitors spread over 35,000 sq m.
Among the major events at the show were the CEO Roundtable and the Defence Ministers’ Conclave chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. These are significant given the ambitious targets set for defence exports. On this, the Minister expressed confidence that the domestic defence production having crossed the record figure of Rs. 1.27 lakh crore, will exceed Rs. 1.60 lakh crore by the end of 2025-26 and defence exports, which touched the record figure of Rs. 21,000 crore will surpass Rs. 30,000 crore.
Addressing a press conference on February 11,HAL Chairman and Managing Director DK Sunil said that they would receive 12 F-404 engines from GE this year.
“The GE has stabilised its manufacturing process for the F404 engines. We have already made three aircraft, and by the end of this year, 11 will be manufactured,” Sunil said. “As the engines start coming in, our delivery to the IAF will start.”
In this regard, he assured that the existing order for 87 LCA-Mk1A, would be completed in three-and-a-half years and the additional order for 97 jets, under contract negotiation, would be completed by FY31-32. Also, in the next three to six months, HAL expects to conclude deals for 97 LCA-Mk1A and 156 Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) Prachand valued at Rs. 1.3 lakh crore.
Further, the discussions for a deal to co-produce the GE F-414 engine in India for the LCA-Mk2 are making progress. First is to get the transfer of technology (ToT) clarity, and then talk about the pricing, the HAL CMD said. Stating that the first step is 80 percent ToT, he said all queries have been sent and a GE team will be in India by the month-end with the answers.
In another development related to the LCA, Collins Aerospace, an RTX business, signed an agreement with HAL to establish a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at HAL Accessories complex in Lucknow. The licensing and spares agreement will enable the facility to provide, repair and overhaul electrical power generation systems for the LCA, the company said in a statement.
At Aero India, GE Aerospace announced a five-year Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract with the IAF to provide a comprehensive sustainment solution for the T700-GE-701D engines powering the latter’s AH-64E-I Apache helicopters which the company said is designed to streamline engine sustainment operations, improve turnaround times, and enhance the availability and operational readiness of the Apache fleet.
The CEO Roundtable with the theme ‘Enabling Defence Cooperation through Global Engagement (EDGE)’ which saw the participation of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) from 19 countries, 35 Indian private companies and 16 defence public sector undertakings. Similarly, the Defence Ministers’ Conclave with the theme ‘Building Resilience through International Defence and Global Engagement (BRIDGE)’ saw the participation of over 162 delegates from 81 countries, including 15 defence ministers, 11 deputy defence ministers, 15 permanent secretaries, and 17 service chiefs.
Further on the fighter front, which remains a major concern for the IAF as it struggles to arrest the falling squadron strength, there were encouraging announcements of the future programmes. The LCA-MK2, a bigger and much more capable jet than the earlier variants, is in very advanced stage and all the jigs and fixtures have been completed, according to Jitendra J Jadhav, Director General of Aeronautical Development Agency.
“The airframe is on the assembly line,” Jadhav said. “We will be making a rollout by the year-end and flying in the first quarter of 2026. We are very confident that it will get inducted from 2028-29.”
In addition, the first prototype of the country’s fifth generation fighter jet, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), is expected to roll out by end-2026 or early-2027, according to its project director.
“The development phase has just begun and we are anticipating that this aircraft will touch the sky towards the end of 2028,” Krishna Rajendra Neeli, outstanding scientist and officiating project director of AMCA programme. “The total duration of the development phase is 10 years. The aircraft will be certified by 2032 and the plan for induction will be 2034 in the Indian Air Force.”
The project had got government sanction in March 2024.
Asia’s largest air show also saw several announcements by global defence majors. Defence public sector undertaking Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Safran Electronics & Defense of France announced a partnership to create a joint venture for the manufacturing, customisation, sale and maintenance of HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) smart precision guided air-to-ground weapon in India. The HAMMER is mounted on the IAF Rafales.
While European countries announced several agreements, the UK as a country stood out. While the UK government announced the formal launch of Defence Partnership-India (DP-I), a dedicated mechanism for cooperation with India, Thales UK and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) signed a contract for Laser Beam Riding MANPADs (LBRM), with an initial batch of STARStreak high velocity missiles and launchers to be delivered to the Indian Army this year. The two companies also announced a collaboration to produce Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM). In addition, MBDA UK and BDL announced that they are working on the installation of a first of its kind Advanced Short-Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM) assembly and test facility in Hyderabad. These missiles are mounted on the IAF’s Jaguar and LCA fighters.
India and the UK also signed a statement of intent to design and develop an Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) system for India Navy’s next generation Landing Platform Dock (LPD) fleet. This is between General Electric (GE) Vernova and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) which will also see the development of India’s first maritime land-based testing facility to deliver the LPD in the water by 2030, the companies announced.
Indian Navy, which is looking at a major expansion of its aircraft numbers, released a vision document ‘Aatmanirbhar Indian Naval Aviation –Technological Roadmap 2047’. The Navy is set to receive 16 MQ-9B high altitude long endurance UAVs and a deal with Dassault Aviation for 26 Rafale-M jets for its aircraft carriers is on the verge of being concluded.
In an unprecedented coincidence showcasing India’s geopolitical standing, Aero India saw the participation of two of the world’s most advanced fifth-generation fighter aircraft – the Russian Su-57 and the American F-35 Lightning II. Both parked on other ends of the static display were major attractions.
