Chances are you won’t hear three words more often than ‘Make in India’. The drummed up campaign that aims at very ambitious self-reliance in defence production by default colours everything you see at an Indian defence show. Foreign vendors, well aware that it’s their only door into the real deal from here on, are fully aligned, if not to actually committing to make their wares in India, then at least empathising with the impulse enough for it to flavour their pitches. The major ‘Make in India’ programmes aside, the Aero India show isn’t often fertile ground for stand-out news, the show usually being a cog in the running commentary of Indian aerospace and defence modernisation. So while we wait for the trends and guidances from this year’s show to play out, Livefist rounds up five India stories of stand-out interest at the show on just Day 1.
Things kicked off early today with the first of two DRDO-Embraer Netra AEW&C jets being handed over to the Indian Air Force. The platform has achieved initial operational capability and will see the rest of its proving journey with a full IAF complement and crew. The experiment, which could become a template for future platforms, seeks to cut time in development and bring the customer force on board quicker. The IAF is said to be very pleased with the platform and will be overseeing the journey to final operational capability by itself.
VIDEO: All smiles at the ceremony to hand over the 1st Netra AEW&C to the Indian Air Force. #AeroIndia2017 pic.twitter.com/Z4ioUTjIeN
— Livefist (@livefist) February 14, 2017
We’ve received a ton of queries on the NAL Saras light civil aircraft, which has pretty much fallen off the radar in the eight years since a tragic 
crash of its second prototype killed an entire test crew outside Bengaluru. Livefist is happy to report that the reconfigured first prototype has just been handed over to the IAF’s Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), which has conducted a few low-speed ground runs. The National Aerospace Lab’s (NAL) director Jitendra J. Jadhav is said to be looking at putting the Saras back into the air by June-July, though officers on the programme we met at the show said August-September was a more likely timeframe. In 2009, not long after a successful showing at that year’s Aero India, Saras Prototype 2 crashed about 30 km from Bengaluru. The tragedy nearly destroyed the programme itself. It’s taken eight years for these first tentative steps back towards development flight operations. Livefist wishes the team the very best.
HAL unveiled the mock-up of its meandering concept medium lift Indian Multirole Helicopter (IMRH) at the show this year. The huge platform, unveiled by Defene Minister Manohar Parrikar, doesn’t have a final configuration yet, and HAL is in the process of deciding turboshaft engines and other equipment. The two things we do know right off the bat is that HAL is looking to develop the chopper in a list of configurations and for every conceivable profile, including anti-submarine warfare and anti-terror special operations. In true form, HAL had an animated movie depicting the IMRH bombing submarines and delivering VVIPs to wherever it is VVIPs go.
The Indian fifth generation AMCA, a staple now at Aero India shows, has merely been given more detail this year. Its Raptor-like planform and shape were largely frozen during the 2015 show, with a new video this year adding fresh contours to what we already know — including a zero-stealth external stores configuration and a panoramic cockpit.
India's 5th Gen AMCA gets fresh detail in this new DRDO video at #AeroIndia2017. pic.twitter.com/1h6af27ulS
— Livefist (@livefist) February 14, 2017
From the detritus of the failed IAI-HAL naval rotory UAV (NRUAV) rises a valiant attempt to do what Israel couldn’t. Livefist reports for the first time that DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) has unveiled its R-UAV, which will unman the Chetak helicopter platform for multi-service use. Frankly, we can’t wait to see where this goes.
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The HAL Light Utility Helicopter is on static and flying duties at Aero India this year (last year, HAL unveiled a mock-up). This is terrific news, given the crucial requirement it fills — high altitude operations. HAL hopes to achieve basic certifications by the end of this year, and complete all trials by early 2019.
The Indian forces need this sooner than most kit. Major interest in the success of HAL's Light Utility Helicopter at #AeroIndia2017. pic.twitter.com/hZ4ZofKJUO
— Livefist (@livefist) February 14, 2017