Aero India 2025 kicks off in Bengaluru

Aero India 2025 kicked off at Bengaluru's Yelahanka Air Force Station on Monday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar were among the high profile names present on the first day.

The 15th edition of Aero India will see more than 9,000 exhibitors, including 150 foreign participants from 90 countries, 26 defence and 118 CEOs, including 59 from foreign companies. The five-day event will see India push its self-reliance vision through a series of strategic meetings and dialogues.

The event was inaugurated by the defence minister on Monday, will see a variety of aircraft perform, including the presence of Russian Su-57 and US' F-35.



The event will also focus on strategic meetings scheduled on the sidelines of the event, the outcomes of which will be known in the months to come.

"Aero India is a platform that showcases the strength, resilience, and self-reliance of New India. It's not just crucial for India's defence preparedness, but it also plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of our nation," Singh said Sunday.

Several one-on-one meetings will also held discussions at seminars, and industry-organised roundtables will be used by Indian officials and companies to further the country's interests in line with the Centre's focus on self-reliance. Enhancing India's defence exports and joint production of advanced technologies will be a key strategic focus at the show.

Singh will host the defence ministers' conclave on February 11 in hybrid mode. The theme this year — ‘Building Resilience through International Defence and Global Engagement (BRIDGE)' — focuses the importance of supply chain resilience and strategic collaboration.


The defence minister will attend two key events on February 12 — ‘Manthan', the annual defence innovation summit will convene stakeholders from industry, academia, and govt to discuss opportunities for defence startups and MSMEs, while ‘Samarthya' will showcase indigenous defence items developed by DPSUs, DRDO, and armed services in collaboration with private firms.

The exhibition will host several high-profile events, including a CEOs' roundtable featuring more than 100 OEMs. Major foreign companies like Airbus, Safran, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are expected to present their plans for collaboration with Indian firms.

A dedicated India Pavilion will display more than 275 exhibits across five zones, featuring indigenous capabilities in aero, land, and naval aviation, along with defence-space and niche technologies. The iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) Pavilion will showcase innovations from startups and MSMEs, which have already secured procurement contracts worth Rs 1,560 crore.

Aero India history

Aero India has come a long way since it began in 1996. It has now become Asia's largest defence and aerospace airshow over the years and has been growing beyond air display. Notably, from the 13th edition, there has been a significant focus on things beyond air display.

While the 13th edition had the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) defence ministers' conclave as the highlight given India's push to expand its role in the region in the backdrop of global geo-political rivalry, the 14th edition saw Singh hold a defence ministers' meeting on the sidelines.