BHARAT FORGE—FROM COMPONENTS TO AIRCRAFT AND UNMANNED SYSTEMS

Bharat Forge is expanding into aircraft assembly, unmanned platforms, and AMCA amid India's aerospace evolution driven by defence modernisation and geopolitics, says CEO GURU BISWAL. in this interaction with GEOPOLITICS.

- GURU BISWAL

How would you describe Bharat Forge's aerospace journey today, and where do you want to take it?Our story is no longer just about components. It is an evolution driven by two questions: can we build aircraft in India, and can we develop unmanned flying systems here?

We started by manufacturing components — turbochargers, engines and related parts. But commercial aerospace and aircraft manufacturing in India remains dominated by HAL, and the country is still at a very early stage in terms of infrastructure for aircraft assembly. Even HAL has not been able to ramp up Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) production to the level the country needs. That is where we saw the opportunity for Bharat Forge to step in.

Looking ahead, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme is a major step, and we are one of the lead partners. The existing LCA continues to be a bottleneck, so new partners are being sought for structural assembly. Then there is LCA Mk2, and beyond that, the future regional transport aircraft. On the rotary side, upcoming helicopter requirements are significant, and HAL alone cannot manage all of them.

Structural assembly, therefore, becomes a national requirement. The real question is whether we simply build assembly lines with jigs and labour or whether we build deeper capabilities in composites, avionics and honeycomb structures. We believe deeper capability is essential.