A delegation led by Indian Air Force Chief Air Marshal S. Shrinivas met Karnataka’s Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar at Vidhana Soudha on August 4, 2026.
Come February next year, the Surya Kirans and the Sarangs will once again dazzle over the Bengaluru skies as the 16th edition of the biennial Aero India show will be held at the Air Force Station in Yelahanka.
A meeting between senior officers from the Training Command of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Tuesday has put to rest the speculation on whether Bengaluru would continue to be the host city for the five-day event.
IAF Officers met Mr. Shivakumar and apprised him of the preparations for the air show.
The IAF Training Command, on its official X handle, said that Air Marshal S. Shrinivas, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, TrainingCommand, IAF, had called on the Chief Minister and briefed him on the preparations. “The Chief Minister assured full cooperation from the State Administration and Departments to ensure that the air show is executed smoothly and safely,” the message said.
Since the conclusion of the previous edition of Aero India in February, 2025, there were rumours that the show would move out of Air Force Station, Yelahanka, which has been the venue of the event since 1993.
Sources told The Hindu that the dates for next year’s Aero India would be announced by the Ministry of Defence. The first three days of Aero India are dedicated to business visitors, while the event is open to the general public in the last two days.
During the last edition of the air show, 930 exhibitors from more than 90 countries took part in the event. A Defence Ministers’ Conclave, CEOs’ Roundtable, Manthan iDEX event, Samarthya Indigenisation event, and seminars were part of the event. One of the major highlights of the 2025 edition was the participation of two fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) — American F-35 Lightning II and the Russian Su-57.
The first-ever airshow held at the Air Force Station Yelahanka was in 1993 then known as Avia India with a modest display of a few aviation assets. It was rebranded as Aero India in 1996 and today is Asia’s largest air show.
Published – August 05, 2026 11:32 am IST
