COLOMBO – Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary, Adm. Prof. Jayanath Colombage, has said AERO India 2021 held in Bengaluru and other places from February 3 to 5, effectively showcased the high capabilities of the Indian aerospace industry and stressed the need to benefit from it for the common good and common prosperity.
Colombage, previously the Commander of the Sri Lankan Navy, addressing an AERO INDIA 2021 function in Colombo, drove home the point saying, “Together we will flourish. But divided we will perish.”
Speaking before a distinguished audience of top Sri Lankan military and civilian officers, entrepreneurs, and Indian High Commissioner Gopal Baglay, Colombage stressed the importance of air surveillance of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) to ensure free and rule-based navigation.
“The Indian Ocean is fast becoming a key ocean. We need collaborative and cooperative measures to meet the emerging challenges here. We need Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). We need synergy between our countries’ navies and agencies. We need to combine air assets at sea for enhanced maritime surveillance capabilities. We need to use All eyes at Sea.
“We need capacity and capability. India has enough capabilities. Now we witness capacity building,” he added.
The former navy commander, who holds a PhD for his thesis on Asymmetric Warfare -a definitive work on the conflict between the Sri Lankan navy and the LTTE’s Sea Tigers over 30 years – said the AERO -India 2021 showcased the importance of air surveillance at sea. He recalled India’s gifting two Dornier aircraft to Sri Lanka and the help India gave to put out the devastating fire on board the oil tanker MT New Diamond, 65 km east of Sri Lanka in September 2020.
Contemporary topics of common security concern like Air Power for Strategic Gains in IOR, Building Collective Maritime Competence towards SAGAR and Collaborative Approach for Safe, Secure and Clean Seas in IOR were dwelt upon in the discussions in which the distinguished audience participated.
Meanwhile, India claimed the AERO-INDIA (Virtual) 2021 in hybrid format was an “unprecedented success” despite COVID-19. It saw the signing of 121 MoUs, 19 Transfers of Technology, 04 handing over and 18 product launches.
The world’s first mega event on a hybrid format saw INR 2030 million worth of orders being bagged by 45 MSMEs making it a grand success said the Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Attended by 16,000 people physically and 450,000 virtually, the platform hosted 540 companies, including 84 foreign companies from 55 nations.
India committed to invest US$ 130 billion towards enhancing security by military modernization in the next 7-8 years and the Aero India was a platform ‘Runway to a Billion opportunities’ to realize this goal.
President Ram Nath Kovind expressed happiness over Hindustan Aeronautical Limited bagging the 83 Tejas Aircraft deal from Indian Air Force valued at INR 480,000 million, significantly strengthening India’s self-reliance in the defence sector as well as establishing India as a manufacturer for the world. The President said Aero India 2021 was a living proof of nation’s ever growing strength in the defense and aerospace sectors at the global level.
The air show saw from fighter aircraft, Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas), Maritime Patrol Aircraft like DO-228, Advanced Light Helicopter (Dhruv), Light Combat Helicopter, Light Utility Helicopter and the Air Tatoo by ‘Sarang’ and ‘Surya Kirans’ mesmerizing the crowds at Bengaluru, in South India.
-ENCL