Aerospace seminar stresses the need to achieve self-reliance

Jays Jacob
09 November 2002

Thiruvananthapuram: Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) chairman N R Mohanty has stressed the need for multi-organisational team effort to achieve self-reliance.

Inaugurating a two-day national seminar on aerospace and related mechanisms (ARMS 2002), organised by Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) here, he said any country that wants to improve the quality of life of its people should pool its resources and foster the growth of organisations that bring technologists together.

VSSC director G Madhavan Nair presided over the function.

Mohanty lauded the mechanism professionals of defence, space, aerospace and industry for making India self-sufficient in critical areas of aerospace and related mechanisms “without which India’s success in these areas could not have been achieved. Mechanisms play a major role in aircraft manoeuvres, satellites and launch vehicles, and weaponry. There is a need for perpetual innovation in the various mechanisms applied for flight control, staging, ejection and deployment of weapons to keep pace with worldwide developments.”

India has crossed several milestones during the recent past in its stride towards creating its own place among the leading nations of the world. The successful flights of the SLV, ASLV, PSLV, GSLV and the light combat aircraft (LCA) were a few of these in which aerospace mechanisms developed by the country were effectively deployed.

The aerospace industry normally lead in the development and application of cutting-edge technologies since aircraft and spacecraft structures and systems need to function with very high reliability and demanding customer specifications, Mohanty added. “Such technological achievements are the result of extensive research and the integration of a multitude of engineering disciplines by aerospace scientists and engineers.”