Hyderabad: The Aeronautical Development Agency launched the two-day national seminar Aeronautics 2047 in Bengaluru on Saturday, bringing together experts to discuss the future of India’s aerospace and defence capabilities.
Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh inaugurated the seminar at the Centre for Airborne Systems. During his address, he congratulated ADA on completing 25 years of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas flight programme. He stressed the need to adhere strictly to delivery timelines to keep the Indian Air Force operationally prepared amid evolving security challenges.
Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and DRDO Chairman Samir V. Kamat said India must develop indigenous, cutting-edge technologies to reduce dependence on imports. He said such efforts would play a key role in achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
The Aeronautics 2047 seminar brought together domain experts, industry partners, academia and aviation professionals from across the aerospace sector. Participants are sharing insights on aeronautics evolution, aircraft design, advanced manufacturing and emerging technology frontiers.
Discussions focus on next-generation aircraft manufacturing and assembly, digital manufacturing, aerodynamics for combat aircraft and propulsion systems. Sessions also cover flight testing techniques, digital twin technology, certification challenges, avionics, flight control systems, maintainability and the use of artificial intelligence in aircraft design.
Aeronautics 2047 highlights LCA Tejas journey and future variants
The seminar also highlights the journey of the LCA Tejas from conceptual sketches to operational squadrons. ADA designed and developed the aircraft, which has completed more than 5,600 successful flight trials.
Officials said over 100 design and development centres participated in the LCA programme. These included government laboratories, academic institutions and industries. The programme led to the development of several niche technologies such as carbon composites, lightweight materials, fly-by-wire flight controls, digital utility management systems and glass cockpits.
The LCA Mk1A, an advanced variant of the aircraft, will meet the Indian Air Force’s operational requirements. Meanwhile, LCA Mk II and the naval variant remain under development. The seminar features technical talks by senior experts associated with the Tejas programme.
India has gained significant capability and capacity to build fighter aircraft indigenously through the LCA programme. So far, the Indian Air Force has inducted 38 aircraft, including 32 fighters and six trainers, into two squadrons.
As part of the event, public sector units, defence PSUs, private industries and MSMEs are displaying indigenously developed products for airborne applications.
