Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, along with MSME Minister TM Anbarasan, Sriperumbudur Member of Parliament TR Baalu and Industries Minister TRB Rajaa, at AeroDefCon 2025, a three-day international conference, in Chennai on Tuesday.
Tamil Nadu has set a target of attracting investments totalling about ₹75,000 crore by 2032 under the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor, said Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Since its launch (in 2019), it has drawn investments worth ₹23,000 crore, of which ₹5,000 crore have already been implemented, the Chief Minister said, while inaugurating AeroDefCon 2025, a three-day international conference in Chennai on Tuesday.
The event, organised by the Tamil Nadu government in association with BCI Aerospace of France, focuses on manufacturing technologies for the aerospace supply chain.
Along this route, each city serves as a unique hub. Chennai is a center for research and naval systems; Coimbatore — a center for micro-engineering competence; Hosur is a center for aerospace and electronic technology, Salem on high-tech products and Tiruchirapalli on heavy machinery manufacturing. All these put together show that every part of Tamil Nadu is an ideal place for investment, said Stalin.
“We have laid out a clear roadmap for economic development in the space sector with existing infrastructure facilities in Thoothukudi. Tamil Nadu will contribute to the development of the Indian space industry. The Chennai Kattupally Ship Yard in North Chennai, Sulur and Vallam Vadagam Space Parks and the space park in Tuticorin are not only boosting Tamil Nadu’s economy but also supporting the country’s defense sector, he said.
“In Tamil Nadu, not only the contribution of big companies but also the share of MSMEs is huge. Of these, more than 700 work in the aerospace and defense sector. Multinational companies need not wait to invest here. Tamil Nadu is ready now,” he said.
Industries Minister TRB Rajaa said a large part of the engineering design for Boeing’s Dreamliner aircraft was done right here in Tamil Nadu at OMR and Ambattur in Chennai. Offering other instances of TN’s contribution to global systems, he noted that the satellite connectivity solutions powering global aviation —by Intelsat and Viasat— are supported from Chennai. In the Pudukottai district, aircraft batteries are being manufactured for global platforms.
BK Das, Distinguished Scientist & DG (ECS), DRDO, said Indo-French relations are going to propel our firepower, our engine power, our fighters and many more to come. I am sure the synergy of these two countries is to bring them together.
The systems developed by DRDO are completely handed over to the industries. “We can’t copy the foreign systems and create a country of power. We have to have innovation, great thinking, and think which nobody could have thought of. We have to create the systems that our Armed Forces could never imagine. And this can’t happen just with DRDO but with support from the industries,” he said.
“The live example has been that of Sindoor. Whatever happened with Brahmos and Akash reflects to the whole world that here is a country’s Armed forces that trusts the weapon designed, developed and delivered by our own industries. Opportunities are phenomenal, all open to all of you, he said.
Published on October 7, 2025