[quattroa4]

After 2018 Defence Expo, myself and wifey decided to visit Aero India show this time around. This was our long standing wish that came true. But watching it live was a experience of another level as those F-16, Rafales and Sukhois scrambled just 20 feet above the runway with their afterburners fully engaged. My ears are still ringing!

Here are some pictures exclusively for BHPians:

LCH (India's answer to the Apache)







Rafale





F/A 18 E Super Hornet of USAF









C17 Globemaster (it's a huge plane. Just 700 meters runway needed for takeoff)





Tejas (with full armament)





Mirage 2000 of IAF





Jaguar of IAF



SU 30 MKI







MiG 29 UPG



The mighty M88 engine that powers Rafale







Look at the ejection seat, it's amazing !







Dhruv helicopters





DRDO 's anti-radiation missile (very few countries possess the capability to manufacture such missiles)



Astra missile (indigenous BVR air to air missile)

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by quattroa4

Here are some pictures exclusively for BHPians:

LCH (India's answer to the Apache)

The Apache is a different class of helicopter and carries a heavier weapons load than the LCH. The LCH is a light attack helicopter that, if I am not mistaken, was designed to fly and fire weapons at higher altitudes, taking lessons from the Kargil War, where the Mi-25s couldn't fly and improvised Mi-17 gunships flying at extreme limits of their capabilities proved vulnerable.

Originally Posted by quattroa4

F/A 18 E Super Hornet of USAF

The US Navy flies the Super Hornet, not the USAF. This particular F/A-18E belongs to US Navy's Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-27 "Royal Maces". The Super Hornet is primarily a naval jet designed for aircraft carrier operations and only other Air Arm that flies the Super Hornet and its ECM variant- the EA-18G Growler, is the Royal Australian Air Force.

Originally Posted by quattroa4

Tejas (with full armament)

The refuelling probe has added a lot of character to the Tejas and makes it look like a mini Mirage 2000.

Originally Posted by quattroa4

Look at the ejection seat, it's amazing !

Was this from the Hawk simulator? The serial number A3656 on the ejection seat means it belongs to a Hawk trainer, as Hawks have A-series serial numbers.

[GTO]

Awesome pics - thanks for sharing!

@ BHPians, please only discuss the aircraft here. The fire incident can be discussed on the other thread.

[kannan666]

Wonderful pictures, missed going to the Aero show this year, thanks for sharing !

[cp171185]

Lovely set of pictures at a perfect time. Thanks for sharing!

By the way the first picture of C17 Globemaster is showing "US Air force". Bit confusing. Any lead?

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

The refuelling probe has added a lot of character to the Tejas and makes it look like a mini Mirage 2000.

Not surprising considering that when the Tejas was conceptualized Mirage was one of the most potent aircrafts around and IAF of course was deeply enamoured with it. Much of the Tejas Delta wing design looks Mirage"ish".

Originally Posted by cp171185

By the way the first picture of C17 Globemaster is showing "US Air force". Bit confusing. Any lead?

Much of the US display contingent seems to have been pulled out of active US Service. Maybe they were close by and were diverted here for the event? Even the Hornet bears the name of the pilot who flies that aircraft along with his lovely call sign (BARFI).

[quattroa4]

Originally Posted by cp171185

Lovely set of pictures at a perfect time. Thanks for sharing!

By the way the first picture of C17 Globemaster is showing "US Air force". Bit confusing. Any lead?

Yes ,Sir. It was from USAF and not from IAF . The U.S team consisted of 2 F/A 18 E Hornets , a F 16 and C 17 Globemaster .

[peterjim13]

Originally Posted by quattroa4

LCH (India's answer to the Apache)

This looks like the same LCH which was on display back in 2011 - and I remember there was a couple of upgrades to it - resulting in a different look to the chopper - especially the paint job.

Originally Posted by quattroa4

C17 Globemaster (it's a huge plane. Just 700 meters runway needed for takeoff)

From what I understand, these planes are displayed to attract prospective buyers - and from what I know you can no longer buy C-17 planes as their production lines is getting to a closure. Even a very happy customer may have to look else-where amongst existing users to buy used planes.

Why would they display the plane here ? Probably they used a C-17 to transport the Hornet and other hardware from US and couldnt find a better place to park https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/icons/icon6.gif

Originally Posted by quattroa4

Tejas (with full armament)

Wow ! The refueling probe makes it look more mature.

Originally Posted by quattroa4

SU 30 MKI

Not to miss out the Brahmos NG under the Sukhois tummy.

Originally Posted by quattroa4

MiG 29 UPG

Would be great if they could showcase the KUB.

Thanks so much for the pictures !!

[Nempuguru]

Nice set of pictures quattroa4. Thanks for the captions/info.

Here are some photos from my end. Don't know much technical data though!

India's pride Surya Kiran acrobatic team in action to pay respect to Wg. Cdr. Sahil Gandhi amidst loud applause from crowd.



The Yakovlevs - UK based acrobatic team put up great performance







Our own Sarang team



Douglas (1950s era?)



F16



C17 Globemaster taking off... it's huge!



Brave Indian Army men performing stunts

[Maveryq]

Noob question: Is it easy to get access to the aircrafts on the tarmac to be able to click pictures or does it require some special permissions?

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Nempuguru

Here are some photos from my end. Don't know much technical data though!

The Yakovlevs - UK based acrobatic team put up great performance

Douglas (1950s era?)

This DC-3 was built in 1944 and served with the British RAF. It was acquired by India and rebuilt to serve with our vintage fleet. I think the cost was borne by a MP, Rajeev CHandrashekar. The DC-3's served with us from mid-1940s to 1987

Love the way those Yakolev's have been painted in the same livery as the Lavochkin La-7 fighters of WW-2

[globemaster]

Originally Posted by Maveryq

Noob question: Is it easy to get access to the aircrafts on the tarmac to be able to click pictures or does it require some special permissions?

There are 2 different tickets that allow access to different areas of the air force base.

INR 600: This is only for the air display and is at one side of the main podium. Its basically empty grounds on the side of the runway. However this location has its own advantages. The aircrafts line up for takeoff at this end of the runway and also touch down at this end. The entry to this zone was through gate 8-9 in Aero-India 2019.

INR 1800: This is called the general visitor ticket and allows access to the exhibition halls, the tarmac area where the planes are parked and one can also see the aerial display from this location. This zone is on the other side of the main podium. The above pictures are taken from this zone and probably with an INR 1800 ticket. In Areo-India 2019 the entry to this zone was through gate 5 (Extra info: the parking lot of Gate 5 was gutted in the fire that destroyed 300 cars)

Now, this was the arrangement for most of the visitors. Then there are of-course some lucky ones (with friends/relatives in MOD and HAL and some business visitors) who get passes to the podium area and everything else.

The arrangement mostly remains the same so it can be expected to see a similar arrangement in 2021. Hope this helps.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by quattroa4

After 2018 Defence Expo, myself and wifey decided to visit Aero India show this time around.

Thanks for the photos of the exhibition. Interesting to see all the aircraft up close. I had attended just the air show on last Friday. Here are some of my photos of the air stunts.

[Nempuguru]

Thank you Sir for the info on DC-3. Good to see this aircraft preserved and inducted in our vintage fleet.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

This DC-3 was built in 1944 and served with the British RAF. It was acquired by India and rebuilt to serve with our vintage fleet. I think the cost was borne by a MP, Rajeev CHandrashekar. The DC-3's served with us from mid-1940s to 1987

Looks like Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) partnered with Yakovlev for this event. Great to see TATA logo on that cute, tiny aircraft.

Love the way those Yakolev's have been painted in the same livery as the Lavochkin La-7 fighters of WW-2

[V.Narayan]

Heartening to see the great Yakovlev bureau's brand name still intact with these aerobatic planes. Yakovlev was once one of the all time great aviation design houses that is now a shadow of its former self after the demise of USSR.

The Yakovlev series of fighters Yak-3, -7, -9 in WW-2 were in the opinion of many, including me, the most impactful fighters of that war. Impactful in how they turned around a crumbling situation and came to dominate the 4000 kms long Russian Front. It may not have been the most famous but it certainly was the most impactful against a far superior enemy - the German Luftwaffe. A Yak-9 below.