Aero India 2025

Aero India was founded in 1996 as the Government of India's aerospace and defence exhibition. From the outset it has been held at Yelahanka Air Force Station, north of Bengaluru, the city that hosts much of the country's aerospace industry: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Aeronautical Development Agency and several DRDO laboratories are based there. The show is run by the Defence Exhibition Organisation under the Department of Defence Production of the Ministry of Defence, with the Indian Air Force, HAL, DRDO, the Department of Space and the Ministry of Civil Aviation as co-organisers.

The second edition, in December 1998, was opened by defence minister George Fernandes with flypasts by Jaguars, MiG-23s, a Tejas prototype and the Surya Kiran team. December rain and heat prompted a move to February from the third edition, in 2001, and the calendar has not shifted since: Aero India is biennial, falls in odd years and runs for five days in February.

The numbers tell the story better than any adjective. In 2003, 176 companies from 22 countries exhibited and French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin attended the flying debut of the HAL Dhruv helicopter. In 2005 there were 380 exhibitors, 80 aircraft and more than 250,000 visitors. In 2009, with China taking part for the first time, 289 Indian and 303 foreign firms were counted. By 2013 there were 607 companies and the Russian Knights flew in India for the first time with their Su-27s. In 2017, 549 exhibitors from 51 countries registered and 72 aircraft were on the programme.

The decisive leap came after the pandemic. The 2021 show, the thirteenth, was held in a hybrid format (in person and online) under the motto "Conceive, Indigenise, Collaborate"; the contract for 83 Tejas Mk1A fighters for the Indian Air Force was signed there and HAL unveiled models of the TEDBF carrier fighter and the CATS unmanned system. In 2023 prime minister Narendra Modi opened the fourteenth edition (13 to 17 February) with 809 exhibiting companies, delegations from 98 countries, defence ministers from 32 nations and 251 memoranda expected to be signed, worth around 75,000 crore rupees. The fifteenth, from 10 to 14 February 2025, was opened by minister Rajnath Singh with 900 exhibitors (750 Indian and 150 international), the largest figure in the show's history; according to the official website it drew more than 700,000 visitors.

Aero India has been the shop window for aircraft India was evaluating or hoping to buy. In 2007 the F-16 and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet appeared in the thick of the MMRCA contest; in 2011 the Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen and the American fighters shared the same sky and the Tejas flew in formation before the public for the first time. In 2013 the C-17 Globemaster III made its debut alongside Rafale formations with F-16s. In 2015 Modi opened the edition devoted to the "Make in India" programme.

In 2019 a USAF B-52 Stratofortress made a flypast over Yelahanka; in 2021 a B-1B Lancer flew in formation with Tejas fighters. The 2023 edition brought the first visit of an F-35A to India. And 2025 produced the image that went round the world: a Russian Su-57, on its international flying debut, parked opposite an American F-35 Lightning II, while in the hall the full-scale model of India's future AMCA fighter was unveiled.

The Indian Air Force aerobatic team, Surya Kiran, is the show's historic host: it flew its Kiran trainers until 2011, its last display on that type, and returned in 2017 with BAE Hawk Mk 132 trainers. The Sarang helicopter team, with its red-and-white Dhruvs, has been the other fixture, and the IAF's Garud commandos performed in 2011. Foreign visitors have included the Russian Knights (2013) and the Flying Bulls with Zlín Z-50s (2013).

The show has seen two serious episodes. In February 2007 a Sarang Dhruv crashed during rehearsals and the co-pilot was killed. On 19 February 2019 two Surya Kiran Hawks collided in mid-air during the rehearsal on the eve of the show; Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi died and the other two pilots ejected with injuries. The team opened the show the next day with a missing-man formation. At the same edition, on 23 February, a fire in the visitors' car park destroyed more than 300 cars without injuries; the investigation pointed to the overheated silencer of a car parked on dry grass, and the organisers removed the grass from the parking areas in 2021.

Aero India 2027 will be the sixteenth edition and will run from 8 to 12 February 2027 at Yelahanka Air Force Station. Exhibitor registration opened on 3 September 2026 on the official website. As in previous editions, the format combines business days and public days, with the exhibition, conferences, technology demonstrations and flying displays by the Indian Air Force and invited international teams. The official website lists more than 35 participating countries, among them Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. As of September 2026, neither the daily programme nor the line-up of aircraft and display teams has been published.