He was speaking at an international seminar on 'Role of SMEs in Defence and Aerospace' at the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, organised by the Amrita Centre for Entrepreneurship in association with the Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries (SIATI), and CODISSIA here on Monday.

“Role of SMEs in aerospace and Defence is very relevant in today's context with the changes in the Government policy promoting the interest of Indian Offset Partners. Once this is a reality, there is a lot of scope for medium and scale industries in this setting,” the air marshal said.

According to Khajuria, IT systems, simulators, and such advances are coming into the Defence in a big way. “We need qualified manpower to look after these needs. Indigenisation which is a Key Result Area of Defence Forces will also give scope for the SMEs to come in.”

Khajuria further said the IAF is in the process of acquiring state-of-the-art weapon system, radars, aircraft, communication systems, etc. “All the three wings of the Defence are going out in a big way in modernising and upgrading inventory. Many new weapon systems and equipment are being procured and there is a lot more to look forward to in the future,” Air Marshal D.S. Khajuria,

The seminar highlighted the opportunity for SME/MSME to become part of the indigenisation of the country's Defence and aerospace sector.