Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Thursday urged the Indian defence industry to prepare and exploit opportunity that global military aviation market is expected to offer, given the projection that it would grow to almost to the tune of $60 billion by 2030.
General Chauhan, conscious of the fact which he stated that the aviation sector was on the cusp of an unprecedented growth, also sought coming together of the armed forces and the civil aviation sector, including the Navratna defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), to reduce the import dependency of existing platforms and catch up with under-development contemporary ones.
“Global aviation military market is projected to grow to almost to the tune of $60 billion by 2030 at a compounded annual growth of 5 per cent through this next ten years or so. This market provides us a window of opportunity which needs to be exploited by believing in the mantra, Make for India and Make for World,” the CDS said in his inaugural address at the two-day HAL’s Avionics Expo-2023 that began here on Thursday.
Expressing confidence that the Indian defence industry has the potential to drive country’s economic goals, the General stated India’s challenges have to be resolved through Indian solutions as the global uncertainties like Covid and Russia and Ukraine war had led to supply chain disturbances for the militaries across the world.
The CDS also stated that a remote-controlled communication, data transmission required for manned and unmanned teaming will drive newer trends in the avionics sector. Additionally, he also observed that challenges related to advanced cyber and electronic warfare threats will be essential ingredient of any future aviation suite. General Chauhan advocated that in the data-driven battle field of tomorrow, avionics system will have to be capable of collecting, processing and disseminating information in real time for the decision maker.
Self reliance
HAL CMD CB Ananthakrishnan, speaking at the sidelines of the expo, said the state-owned company is trying to maximise indigenously designed and developed avionics to 75-80 per cent in at least the next five years from the existing 40- 45 per cent being used in the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Dhruv which are the mainstay of Indian armed forces.
He told the gathering that, “I am proud to mention here that we have achieved self reliance in most of the avionics systems which is mission computers, navigation systems, communication systems and display systems. Thanks to the Indian aerospace ecosystem, more than 50 per cent of the avionics systems that goes into live combat aircrafts Tejas, advanced light helicopter Dhruv and light utility helicopters are indigenous. Because of the strong indigenous capabilities, we are able to offer our platforms such as ALH, LCA to foreign customers with customisation as per the requirement of the end user.”
This expo shows the cutting edge advancements made by the HAL and defence ecosystem in the avionics technology. It is a celebration of innovation, collaboration, and the relentless pursuit of excellence, he commented on the defence PSU’s achievements. He also observed that its high time that aerospace and defence ecosystem to take the avionics R&D and manufacturing of avionics on the war footing due to entry barriers with respect to design and control of certification of avionics.
Over the two days, there will be panel discussion on new trends, certification, indigenisation, innovation and exports of defence systems.