Pahalgam incident has taken our nation by surprise. Shaking every Indian by heart. While we remain completely speechless for those who lost their loved ones, we very much stand with all the key decisions being taken by Government of India, towards punishing the perpetrators.

All fingers point towards Pakistan and their state sponsored terror groups as the instigators. While the world has come out to condemn the attack and support India, all measures economic, political and military should be exercised to give a long lasting reply so that the terrorists, the terror groups and their supporters do not even dream of such misadventures in the future. We have a thought piece by Air Marshal R.G.K. Kapoor (Retd) on the options available to the Indian government for a hard and calibrated response.

The fact remains that unfortunately, currently India is surrounded by hostile neighbours who continue to take advantage of our policies and largesse. India had launched Operation Brahma, a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) mission, to deliver critical supplies, medical teams, and rescue personnel to the regions affected by a massive earthquake in Myanmar. The military transport aircraft deployed by IAF for delivering the aid came under attack with GPS spoofing in Myanmar airspace, thought to be linked to Chinese enabled systems, given Beijing’s advanced electronic warfare capabilities and presence in the region. GPS spoofing is increasingly common in conflict zones but these were humanitarian missions for the relief of the local population!! Air Marshal Anil Khosla (Retd) reports on the incidents and how IAF still managed to accomplish the missions.

Our cover story, penned by Ayushee Chaudhary, dives deep into the extraordinary saga of NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, whose originally short mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner unexpectedly evolved into a 286-day odyssey in orbit. Sunita William, due to her Indian connect, elicited a huge support from Indians, including that from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for her safe return. This issue examines how this mission became a profound test of human endurance, engineering precision, and the unpredictable realities of commercial spaceflight.

BAOA recently organised its conference that brought together industry experts, policy makers, aviation leaders, and stakeholders to deliberate and chart a strategic roadmap for the sector’s future. The conference captured the pulse of India’s business aviation sector—highlighting key discussions on policy reform, innovation, and sustainable growth as stakeholders chart a roadmap toward a “Viksit Bharat.” The conference got a further boost by the active participation of Naveen Jindal, an Industrialist, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and a huge proponent of Business Aviation in India; and Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, Director General of the DGCA India. Manish Kumar Jha details the proceedings of the Conference in this issue.

Over the last six decades Rolls-Royce has become the world’s leading engine supplier in business aviation, powering some of the largest, fastest and longest-range business jets. In an Exclusive and exhaustive interview, Lindsey Stuss Gillen, Vice President, Sales & Marketing – Business Aviation explains on how the company’s innovative maintenance programme, CorporateCare^® Enhanced, continues to reshape the post-sale support ecosystem for highperformance business aircraft.

We at SP’s reiterate our commitment and our services to our Nation.
Jai Hind!