Homegrown military aircraft, helicopters and a host of products will be the highlight of displays at DefExpo-2020 starting next week at Lucknow, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd said here on Thursday.
HAL, the lead organiser and national exhibitor at the event, said it would showcase models of its products — the Light Combat Aircraft or LCA ‘Tejas’, the Light Combat Helicopter LCH, the multi-purpose Advanced Light Helicopter, the Dornier-228 civil plane and the advanced jet trainer Hawk — at its indoor stall. A Sukhoi-30 MKI cockpit simulator upgraded by HAL will be unveiled.
“HAL is instrumental in organising major defence expos in the last couple of years. HAL’s indigenously designed and developed fixed and rotary wing [helicopter] platforms will steal the show,” a HAL release said quoting Chairman and Managing Director R. Madhavan.
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Flying displays
Flying displays will also mainly feature HAL’s fighter planes and helicopters: the LCA; Rudra, which is ALH Mk IV; the LCH; the LUH and Do-228. Flying displays are part of a DefExpo for the second time this year — a trend started with the previous edition of 2018.
HAL said its Light Utility Helicopter LUH would be on static display.
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The Defence Ministry is hosting the two-yearly international defence exhibition. the 11th edition, during February 5-8 with the theme of digital transformation of defence.
DefExpo is being held for the first time in Lucknow. Delhi was its venue right from the first event but in 2016, the event was taken out of there for the first time, to Goa. The next show of 2018 was shifted to Tamil Nadu. The MoD has identified Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh as locations of two planned defence corridors.
Other HAL products include avionics, accessories, assemblies, devices such as the Indigenous Digital Map Generator, Engine & Flight Display Unit, Gas Turbine Electrical Generator, Air Producer Engine, a glass cockpit for Do-228, Automatic Target Recognition and its Digital Sand Rapid Prototyping Technology.