Bengaluru: It’s official. Rafale jets will fly at Aero India 2019 commencing here on February 20. These jets will be flown by pilots of the French Air Force. Dassault Aviation would also display the business jet, Falcon 2000s. The other French aircraft include the Airbus A330-900, Airbus C295 and Airbus H135 along with H145 helicopters. France would have the strongest presence by any nation at the air show with 49 companies confirming participation in the five-day international show.
All sectors would be represented – civil and military aerospace, defence and space, according to a spokesperson for GIFAS, the French Aerospace Industries Association.
The spokesperson said French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler and Lieutenant-General Thierry Carlier, Director for International Development of the Defence Procurement Agency (DGA), representing the Minister for the Armed Forces, would visit the show for official meetings with Indian authorities.
They would make a point of exchanging views with the SME stand personnel on the French Pavilion. Besides Dassault Aviation, another French aerospace and defence major Thales would display cutting-edge capabilities across civil and defence aerospace sectors at the air show, including latest generation mini-UAS - Spy’Ranger; high-velocity missile - STARStreak; tracking and illumination radar - STIR; airborne rockets and a range of products from radio communications.
Thales support to Make in India
Thales has been in the vanguard of digitalisation of the defence, aerospace and space markets. At Aero India, the Thales stand would provide an insight into its extraordinary high-technology solutions across airborne solutions, air defence, radars, optronics, radio communications, among others through special digital experiences.
“Aero India is a prestigious event providing us with an opportunity to showcase how our word-class technology and solutions help our customers achieve their big ambitions. This year, we would also take a step further and present our efforts supporting the “Make in India” initiative of the Indian government. We would have solutions being manufactured in the country through our local partners – global supply chain partners and joint ventures, among others. In addition, we will also be highlighting our hiring plans, and skilling and upskilling endeavours through our presence at the Aero Skills Pavillion this year,” said Emmanuel de Roquefeuil, Vice President and Country Director, Thales in India. Airbus would also leverage the event to acquire talent. On February 23 and 24, it would offer visitors the opportunity to explore career prospects with Airbus India in Avionics Software, Aircraft System Simulation and Airframe Structures as well as in API Development, Full Stack Development, Big Data, Cloud and DevOps.
