As the COVID-19 has disrupted all events across the globe, the impact of the pandemic is also explicitly visible in the 2021 edition of the biennial Aero India-2021 air show, as very few foreign planes or equipment were part of both static and flying displays at the venue.
On Tuesday, a day before when the event is set to start, the flying display was mainly dominated by the Indian Air Force fleet aircraft along with the ones development by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) like the Light Utility Helicopters and the Light Combat Helicopter.
In the static display too, the only foreign aircraft that could be seen was a Ukrainian transport plane otherwise it was all Indian Air Force and HAL planes. The static display includes almost all the fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force including the Rafale in Indian colours which have come to an air show for the first time.
Previously, the French had been bringing the omnirole plane to the Indian air show but this…