Technology issues need to be addressed collaboratively to meet challenges not only from design to deployment, but also throughout the life cycle of the products and systems, according to Anil Kumar, chairman and managing director of India’s Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL). “The technologies of aerospace products are so diverse that it would be quite impossible for any single entity to provide complete solutions,” he told a seminar organized in conjunction with this week’s Aero India show in Bangalore. “Major global aerospace industries should forge international collaborations and alliances to come up with innovative cost effective solutions.”

In his view, there continues to be an increasing dependence on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software due to unavailability of MIL-grade components. While ruggedization of COTS items for airborne applications and the move toward commercial certification standards is a logical extension of this usage, some long-term issues remain. For instance, Kumar voiced concerns about security and obsolescence issues in using commercial products on military aircraft. The ultimate goal, Kumar believes, is to ensure that Indian aerospace firms will eventually be competent enough to handle “aerospace-grade” technology.