After five days of enthralling air displays and exciting defense announcements, the 15th edition of the ‘Aero India’ airshow held at the Yelahanka Air Force Base in Bengaluru officially concluded on February 14.
The biennial airshow is regarded as the biggest aviation exhibition in Asia—a monumental feat for the Indian Ministry of Defence, Indian Air Force (IAF), and defense manufacturers.
Like the 2023 iteration, Aero India 2025 also brought together global defense vendors and manufacturers.
In fact, the scale and scope of this year’s Aero India were grand. According to reports, almost 500 delegates from 84 countries, including foreign visitors, defense ministers, and service chiefs, attended Aero India 2025.
More importantly, this year, the event saw participation by 58 Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and 931 exhibitors, including 782 Indian participants.
While overall, the Aero India air show was very eventful, some moments and announcements truly stood out as spectacular. EurAsian Times recounts eight major highlights that made headlines during the five-day show.
Highlights From Aero India 2025
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Su-57 & F-35 Shared The Same Airbase
The biggest highlight of Aero India 2025 was the presence of two rival fifth-generation stealth aircraft—the Russian Su-57 Felon and the US F-35 Lightning II—at the same airbase for the first time.
While this was the second visit to Aero India for the F-35, the Russian Su-57 was making its debut. The photos of the two state-of-the-art 5th-generation fighter jets sharing a tarmac went viral on social media and became a talking point among defense experts and enthusiasts globally.
Both aircraft took part in aerial displays, overlooking one another in a never-seen spectacle. Interestingly, both aircraft are now on offer to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport proposed all-around cooperation on the Su-57E project ahead of the airshow. The offer includes the supply of ready-made aircraft, the organization of their joint production in India, and assistance in the development of the Indian fifth-generation fighter.
The offer has intrigued military watchers because it includes the transfer of technology aimed at enhancing India’s indigenous defense manufacturing capabilities.
While the reiteration of the Su-57 offer to India was expected, US President Donald Trump surprised everyone on February 13 by expressing his administration’s willingness to sell F-35 stealth fighters, considered among the most advanced military aircraft in the world, to India.
“Starting this year, we will be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We are also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F35, Stealth fighters,” Trump said.
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Scaled Model Of AMCA At Aero Show 2025
The state-owned aerospace and defense company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) displayed a full-scale model of their fifth-generation aircraft, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which is currently under development.
The aircraft was accompanied by a full-scale prototype of the Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Warrior and RUAV-200 (Rotary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle-200).
This marked the first public display of the country’s fifth-generation stealth aircraft and has been seen as a significant milestone in India’s drive for self-reliance in defense technology. The AMCA is a twin-engine, multi-role stealth fighter being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
While the AMCA would be ready for induction only by the mid-2030s, the Indian government has affirmed that it remains committed to the project. In his opening remarks at the air show, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said: “We have made a firm resolve to manufacture the fifth-generation fighter aircraft within the country.”
Nonetheless, the appearance of the full-scale model fueled discussions over the delays in the production of the AMCA. Some experts advocated for an interim purchase of a 5th-generation fighter jet from either the US or Russia, along with accelerating the AMCA program.
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India’s All New Trainer Rechristened As ‘Yashas’
The HAL also unveiled the Intermediate Jet Trainer HJT-36 Neostar upgrade, now designated ‘Yashas.’
The aircraft has been upgraded with a modern cockpit and cutting-edge avionics. These advancements ensure that the aircraft can provide improved weight management while addressing the obsolescence of imported components by integrating Indian Line Replaceable Units (LRUs).
Moreover, the upgrades were aimed at resolving aircraft departure characteristics and spin resistance throughout the aircraft envelope.
Unveiling the aircraft, HAL Chief Managing Director DK Sunil said, “The large-scale changes to the baseline intermediate training platform have led to significant upheaval in its capabilities. Hence, it provided an opportunity for a new name to be given by the aircraft’s continued relevance as a training system for modern military aviation. In light of this, HJT-36 has been renamed ‘Yashas’.”
Interestingly, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh also took a 35-minute sortie on the aircraft.
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Embraer & Airbus Showcase Their MTA
As the IAF seeks to purchase up to 80 Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) to replace its aging fleet of Russian Antonov An-32s and Ilyushin Il-76s, two foreign contenders who are in the contest—Embraer and Airbus—displayed their C-390 “Millenium” and A-400M “Atlas” at the air show respectively.
The C-390 Millennium made its second consecutive appearance at Aero India 2025. As a frontline contender for India’s Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) program, Embraer signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India’s Mahindra Defence Systems in February last year to jointly offer the aircraft to the IAF.
Airbus also displayed its Atlas-400M transport aircraft at the show. A tactical and strategic military transport platform, it was the largest aircraft at Aero India 2025.
Airbus pitched its A400M ‘Atlas’ aircraft to the IAF in 2023, saying, “Several A400M have been flying through and to India as escorts of foreign air forces deployments in the South East Asia region and the aircraft is relatively known by the Indian Air Force.”
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KC-135 Refuler & B-1B Bomber Conducted Flypast
The KC-135 “Stratotanker” aerial refueling tanker and B-1B “Lancer” strategic bomber of the US Air Force (USAF) conducted flypasts over Yelahanka Air Force Station during the airshow.
The KC-135 Stratotanker offers the primary aerial refueling capability for the United States Air Force and has played a vital role in this duty for over 60 years. The aircraft improves the Air Force’s capacity to carry out its overarching goal of reaching the entire world.
On the other hand, the B-1B Lancer is a long-range USAF strategic bomber, also known as “Bone” by its crew. Developed to penetrate Soviet airspace at low altitudes and deliver nuclear payloads, it is one of three heavy bombers in the US Air Force, the other two being B-52H Stratofortress and B-2 Spirit.
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Contract Signed For Laser Beam Riding MANPADS
Thales and India’s Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) signed a contract at Aero India 2025 to supply the first batch of Laser Beam Riding MANPAD (LBRM) Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) Missiles and launchers to India. The announcement was made on February 11, the second day of the show.
This will be the first time that India will receive this VSHORAD technology, which includes the delivery of high-velocity missiles (Starstreak) and launchers. Thales and BDL signed a partnership agreement to collaborate on the LBRM project in 2021, with backing from both Indian and UK Governments.
The purchase is intended to strengthen India’s air defense capabilities by providing the Indian Armed Forces with the newest, most precise, most resistant to countermeasures technologies, air defense system. Following the signing of this initial LBRM contract, both Thales and BDL will further collaborate to produce Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM).
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MBDA-BDL ASRAAM Plans Announced
Lindy Cameron, the British High Commissioner to India, announced that MBDA UK and BDL have been working together on the installation of a first-of-its-kind Advanced Short-Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM) assembly and test facility in Hyderabad. The facility will arm the current fleet of India’s fighter jets and export them to the world.
This new partnership is expected to strengthen the defense ties that currently exist between India and the United Kingdom.
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UK-India To Develop Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) System
The UK and India signed a Statement of Intent to design and develop an Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) system for India’s next-generation Landing Platform Dock (LPD) fleet.
GE Vernova and BHEL are working together to establish India’s first maritime land-based testing facility, aiming to have the Landing Platform Dock operational by 2030.
The INS Jalashwa is the only LPD in the Indian Navy at the moment; however, four new ships are anticipated to be awarded in 2026 as part of India’s next-generation LPD tender.
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