Defence Expo 2020: Tanks, missiles, and fighter jets on display | PHOTOS

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Tanks, missiles and fighter jets were on display on the second day of India's premier biennial defence exhibition -- Defence Expo 2020. The flagship event of the Ministry of Defence is being held for the first time in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. One of the largest events of its kind, the Defence Expo's 11th edition began on February 5 and will conclude on February 9. Here's what was on display on Day 2.

DEFENCE EXPO 2020: Tanks, missiles, and fighter jets on display

The second day of the Defence Expo witnessed the signing of fourteen agreements between Russian defence majors and Indian military firms providing for joint production of spare parts of a number of military platforms and weapon systems. The MoUs were signed under a framework of an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) sealed between India and Russia in September last year. 

Airbus India and Adani Defence signed an agreement to leverage synergies in aerospace and aircraft services, a fast growing sector that is estimated to generate annual business worth USD 6.3 billion in the country by 2025. Airbus and Adani Defence will explore opportunities for collaboration in the area of aircraft services for Indian and South Asian market, the Airbus said after signing of the pact at the DefExpo2020. With Adani's recent foray into airports, this potential collaboration will leverage the synergies between the product and services excellence of Airbus and infrastructure, engineering and mega-project execution capabilities of Adani, the Airbus said. The Airbus showcased its best-in-class military products and cutting-edge defence technologies at the expo. Models of the highly-versatile C295 aircraft, as well as the H145M and the H225M helicopters, were among its top exhibits.

Meanwhile, India has signalled its readiness to significantly ramp up supply of weapons and defence platforms to African countries, a move aimed at enhancing its strategic heft in a region where China has been aggressively expanding its military and economic clout. In an address at a conclave to deepen Indo-Africa defence cooperation at the DefExpo here, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India is ready to scale up military supplies to African nations including offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), fast interceptor boats, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), military aircraft, and arms and ammunition.