ANTONY-AEROSPACE 2

On the issue of offsets, the Defence Minister said while
India "is willing to learn" from international experience, the
debates on the subject provided an opportunity to the ministry
officials to remove some undesired and needless misgivings on
the matter.
"Our nation has been recording an impressive economic
growth. However, this steadily growing potential has also
meant shouldering bigger responsibilities in the strategic
context. The emerging strategic landscape the world over will
require a further strengthening of aerospace capabilities and
India is certainly no exception," he said.
He asked the IAF and industry leaders to "break-up the
challenges" in the aerospace sector into fragments and then
join the dots and fill the gaps to form the larger picture.
"Nations today grapple with similar challenges and,
therefore, need to draw up coordinated responses. Keeping pace
with the technology curve is a major challenge for developing
nations like ours. Nations need to maximise cooperation
through regular military exercises, weapons training and share
their experiences with each other," he added.
Noting that the latest trends in the aerospace sector
clearly showed that airpower had emerged as one of the most
effective resources in enhancing defence preparedness and
security of any nation, Antony said airpower increased India's
response capabilities and flexibility.
"By its very nature, aerospace power continues to be
technology-driven. It is for this reason that enhancement of
air power capabilities often come at high costs. Developing
nations such as India need to link up our unique security
concerns with modernisation that do not divorce us from the
ground realities," he said.
The Defence Minister said India welcomed partnerships and
joint ventures at an international level, but "each nation
cannot do without strengthening indigenous capabilities."
He said the spurt in Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul
(MRO) industry in the civil aviation sector has shown that
India was fast emerging as the favoured destination for such
ventures.
Pointing out that the rapid development in material
technology meant the onus was on organisations such as DRDO to
"devote more time, energy and resources" to strengthen R&D
efforts, Antony said the changes must be introduced in a
phased, yet time-bound manner to provide state-of-the-art
equipment to military aviators and air warriors.
Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik,
in his address, said no country could be recognised as a
reckonable power by being permanently at the mercy of imported
arms and equipments to meet its aspirations and agenda. PTI