The 16th edition of the biennial event is expected to be its biggest so far, reflecting its growing scale and global appeal, the officials said. (REUTERS)
The 16th edition of the biennial event is expected to be its biggest so far, reflecting its growing scale and global appeal, the officials said. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will serve as the nodal agency for the event on behalf of the defence ministry’s department of defence production, supported by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), HT learns.
Both HAL and BEL have already been assigned responsibilities to ensure smooth conduct of the five-day airshow, which will also serve as a platform for Indian and foreign companies to forge new partnerships and help advance indigenisation in the aerospace sector.
The airshow comes as the government steps up efforts to boost defence production and exports. India’s annual defence production hit a record ₹1.78 lakh crore in the financial year 2025-26, up 15.6% from ₹1.54 lakh crore in the previous fiscal. This marks a 110% increase from FY 2020-21, when defence production stood at ₹84,643 crore, according to defence ministry data.
The government aims to achieve defence manufacturing worth ₹3 lakh crore by 2029-30. It has also set a target of achieving ₹50,000 crore in defence exports during the same period.
The recent agreements for the supply of BrahMos cruise missiles and Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missiles to Indonesia’s armed forces are expected to provide fresh momentum to India’s defence export push. India’s defence exports hit a record ₹38,424 crore in FY 2025-26, up 63% from ₹23,622 crore in the previous financial year.
The hardware India exported includes missiles, artillery guns, rockets, armoured vehicles, offshore patrol vessels, personal protective gear, radars, surveillance systems, ammunition, components, and systems/sub-systems. The number of exporters increased from 128 to 145 in FY 2025-26.
Policy reforms by the government have boosted the Indian defence industry in the past few years, including simplification of the industrial licensing procedure, removal of parts and components from the license regime, and simplification of export authorisation.
India’s arms imports fell 4% between 2016-20 and 2021-25, but the country remains the world’s second largest importer of military hardware, accounting for 8.2% of global weapon imports, according to a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report published in March.
