The 7th Aero India was organized by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It was managed by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bengaluru, India from February 11-15, 2009. Aero India has already carved a niche for itself globally as a premier aerospace exhibition, with six successful editions organized between 1996 and 2007. The show aims at bringing under one roof, exhibitors from all around the globe to showcase the best in aviation. Aero India includes both flight and static displays of a wide range of civil and military aircrafts from leading manufacturers, vendors and suppliers.
India’s opening up of the defence sector to foreign direct investment, the ongoing modernization plan of its Armed Forces and enormous new opportunities in the civil aviation sector have opened innumerable new avenues for investment. Aero India 2009 will provide an ideal window of opportunity for companies to not only network with the Indian Industry but also 
to benefit from the sharing of expertise in the fields of R amp; D production and product support with other global players. Aero India 2009 will showcase the latest in the field of Military and Civil aircrafts, vital components for aircraft engines, avionics systems amp; sub systems, airfield radars and new age technologies used in the defence sector. The US had an extensive presence at Aero India 2009.
The US contingent will include more aircraft, sophisticated equipment, and greater participation of VIPs than at any previous Aero India show. Top of the line aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, C-17 Globemaster III, C-130J Hercules and KC-135 Stratotanker will be on display and participate in numerous flight demonstrations. US Ambassador David C Mulford and other top military leaders and defence department officials were attended. Officials said US participation in Aero India highlights the US desire for increased defence cooperation with India and the importance it places on international defence cooperation in general. The curtains came down over the five-day AeroIndia 2009 air show at the Yelahanka Air Force Base on Sunday evening, with a slew of record attendances.
Over 200,000 visitors attended the show, including 50,000 business visitors. This was the seventh edition of the prestigious event, which first opened for exhibition and business in 1996. Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) officials, the organizers of the event admitted that hundreds of people were turned away on the last day and that all the tickets for the show were sold out. This has led to considerable heartburn among large sections of the public, and even the media. Other statistics let out by the ministry of defence expo officials suggest that as many as 588 business-to-business (b2b) meetings took place at the show, including 350 between Indian and foreign companies and the rest between Indian business houses. 
The newly introduced software, enabling online registration and enhancing business propositions amongst companies worldwide, is also being claimed to be a success. Some 592 exhibitors, from 25 countries, participated in the show. Of these 303 were overseas firms and 289 domestic.The participating countries included UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands and Ukraine. A biennial event, the eighth edition of Aero India will now be held from 9-13 February 2011.
Photos by Navneeth D
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