Defexpo India 2018

By Joseph Roukoz

On Wednesday, the April 11, military helicopters flying in loops 40 km south of Chennai marked the beginning of DefExpo 2018, which lasted until April 14.

This exotic show, that takes place every two years, the previous one was in Goa, included a number of international companies from 42 countries, according to the organizers, despite the delay with the show’s dates announcement.

Due to the fact that India was an organizer of the event, the participation of local companies was much higher compared to international ones, as well as delegations, journalists and visitors.

With its tenth edition entitled «Make in India», this show has become an important event on the agendas of international companies especially as India today is a significant market in the military field.

Air Defence System Akash Weapon system (AWS) -Make in India

During the inauguration the Indian Prime Ministre Modi said : «There was a time when, like many other aspects of governance, the critical issue of defence preparedness was also hampered by policy paralysis. We have seen the damage laziness, incompetency or perhaps some hidden motives, can cause to the nation».

He said his government had taken «bold action to meet the immediate requirements» and referred to the process that had been initiated to procure 110 fighter aircraft, which tenders had been recently ongoing. «We do not want to spend 10 years in discussions without any tangible outcomes», he said. A source close to the government indicated to EDR that the contract on the 110 fighters will be announced in the beginning of the next year.

«We will work with you (defence manufacturers) with a sense of mission to keep our defence forces equipped with state-of-the art systems, and to create the necessary domestic manufacturing ecosystem to achieve this » Mr. Modi added.

The Prime Minister also lunched the «innovation for Defence Excellence» scheme for setting up Defence innovation Hubs throughout the country, to provide necessary incubation and infrastructure support to the start-ups in defence area.

 

The information about some companies and the products they showcased at the show you can find here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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