A view of Aero India 2019 on Tuesday | Photo: Saurabh Joshi/StratPost
India’s biennial air show, Aero India 2019 is set to begin on Wednesday, in spite of the shadow cast by the tragic loss of life of Indian Air Force (IAF) Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) pilot, Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi during rehearsals for the airshow on Tuesday.
According to numbers disclosed by the Ministry of Defence, the airshow has 403 exhibitors participating in this edition of which 165 are international exhibitors. 63 aircraft will be present at the show, either on static display or for flight demonstrations. A total of 51 countries will be represented at the airshow with participation by 44 national delegations.
The airshow will see a number of aircraft for the first time, including the Airbus A330 Neo, Airbus C-295 medium range transport aircraft, a Dakota from the IAF’s Vintage Flight, an AN-132 and most notably, a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress nuclear-capable bomber that will fly in for a flypast from Andersen Air Force Base at Guam in the Pacific Ocean.
A U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III demonstration team from Hawaii, F-16 and U.S. Navy F/A-18 aircraft stationed in Japan will also participate in the show. A U.S. Navy P-8 Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft from Western coast of the United States will be at the airshow.
The air show is also hosting a Drone Olympics – a design contest for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with categories for surveillance, weight drop and formation flying. The contest received 120 entries including four from Germany, Israel, United Kingdom and Ukraine competing for a total prize money amount of INR 3.8 million.
