India’s HAL among exhibitors at Farnborough airshow

NEW DELHI - India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will be among the 1,400 exhibitors participating in the Farnborough airshow, one of the biggest in the aviation calendar, that gets underway in Britain Monday.

Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju is leading the Indian delegation to the show where the who’s who of the aerospace sector is expected to be present. Nearly 120,000 visitors are expected to attend the event.

Defence public sector undertaking HAL is among the 1,393 exhibitors from 40 countries participating in the biennial Farnborough International Airshow, a defence spokesperson said.

Aviation selling and buying will be at the heart of the show, which in 2008 saw a record-breaking business of $88.7 billion being announced, according to the spokesperson.

The week-long event is also an ideal opportunity to showcase the latest star products.

Over 170 aircraft will be displayed through the week and the focus, according to the spokesperson, will be on Space Zone and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) this year.

The Space Zone brings together key players from space agencies and industry to highlight the increasing role of space in a rapidly changing world.

Unmanned aircraft systems are participating in the daily flying display at the air show for the first time.

The Boeing’s 787 will be making its international debut at the show and so would be the new A400M military transport plane from Airbus, which was on show in Berlin in June this year.

Secretary Defence Production Raj Kumar Singh and Commander-in-Chief Southern Air Command Air Marshal S. Mukerji are accompanying Raju to the show.