Aero India 2021: Less foreign planes on display, Made in India dominate the show

As the COVID-19 has disrupted all events across the globe, the impact of the pandemic is also explicitly visible in the 2021 edition of the biennial Aero India-2021 air show, as very few foreign planes or equipment were part of both static and flying displays at the venue.

On Tuesday, a day before when the event is set to start, the flying display was mainly dominated by the Indian Air Force fleet aircraft along with the ones development by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) like the Light Utility Helicopters and the Light Combat Helicopter.

In the static display too, the only foreign aircraft that could be seen was a Ukrainian transport plane otherwise it was all Indian Air Force and HAL planes. The static display includes almost all the fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force including the Rafale in Indian colours which have come to an air show for the first time.

Previously, the French had been bringing the omnirole plane to the Indian air show but this time, they have not come due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The DRDO pavilion in the open display area would be showcasing the latest and first anti-radiation missile in the country Rudram-1, which can strike enemy radars and air defence systems at 200 kilometres. While the BrahMos missile could be seen in the coastal air defence role for the Indian navy along with the air-launched variant.

The HAL display area has a huge mock-up of the CATS WARRIOR unmanned combat drone which looks like a futuristic weapon system taking the armed forces towards unmanned warfare in a big way.