Bengaluru bids goodbye to its biennial aero show

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: As soon as they entered, as if on cue, the crowd made a beeline to the stands from where they could get a better view of the aerial stunts on the final day of 'Aero India 2025' on Friday. Their efforts paid off: the pilots put on a breathtaking show. They rolled the aircraft zigzagged through the sky flipped them over, and hovered vertically before plunging at full speed—cutting through the air like a bomb—only to pull up again. The daredevilry drew a collective gasp from the crowd. The penultimate show at 10.30 am showcased the prowess of 10 aircraft, including the popular Russian Su-57 and the American F-16, along with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)'s LUH, HTT-40, LCA Mk-1A, and IJT.

The Indian Air Force's Su-30 MKI and nine HAWKs flown by the renowned Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) also participated along with National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL)'s Hansa and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)'s FTB. In the final aerial display at 2.30 pm, which also showcased 10 aircraft the American F-16 was replaced with another American aircraft, the KC-135. Meanwhile, the exhibitors, thanks to the fifth-day fatigue and the pressing crowd, were seen putting their things together already waiting to leave as soon as they could. But mostly the exhibitors were a happy lot. Siddhant Singh Chauhan, Senior Manager of Business Communications at Boeing, said he was thrilled as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Boeing stall on the inaugural day.

Chauhan said he also was happy with the response that Boeing's AI-driven presentation got. In what looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie, people learnt about Boeing's product portfolio in a sensoractivated transparent screen with the flick of their hands. Vasilii Fainveits, CEO, CTO & Founder of Latviabased Fixar, a software and aircraft design developing firm said he found a perfect partner in Hyderabad-based Aksi Aerospace Group.

With their help, said Fainveits he would be able to scale up the production of his 'luxury' drone Fixar 007, a fully autonomous, vertical take-off and landing drone. "We are planning to name the drone Shiv, as a nod to one of my friends who passed away recently and who happened to be Indian,” said Fainvveits.