Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) was established on 5 th January 1959, with the mandate to support the acquisition of equipment by the Air Force and type approval of aeronautical stores supplied by the industry. ADE was located on a 9 acre plot in temporary hutments in 'B' & 'C' camps at High Grounds, Bengaluru, which now houses the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium and Legislature's Home. ADE has grown from 9 acres to 4,387 acres, which includes ATR at Chitradurga.

During Sixties, in addition to the mandated tasks such as Evaluation trials of specialized equipment imported by IAF and Evaluation of Aircraft for type certification, ADE saw the development of Hovercraft. ADE made valuable strides in the areas of Ground Transmitter – Receiver, Regulated Power Supply Unit, IFF equipment etc. during the period.