IAF’S Indigenisation Thrust in Maintenance of Aircraft Fleet

Indian Air Force operates a variety of aircraft fleets of foreign origin ranging from legacy MiG-21 Bison to the state-of-the-art Rafale aircraft. For increased self-reliance and to meet sustenance requirements in product support of IAF aircraft and systems, indigenisation of aircraft as well as systems spares and setting up of indigenous Repair and Overhaul (ROH) facilities for aggregates are key focus areas of IAF.

There is immense scope for indigenisation in the IAF for a wide variety of spares and equipment ranging from aircraft general purpose spares, such as nuts, bolts, cables, gaskets, springs, etc to complex high technology spares, such as avionics equipment, aeroengine accessories, etc. Indigenisation of spares for maintenance of aircraft and systems is undertaken through Base Repair Depots (BRDs) of IAF located in various parts of the country and No. 1 Central Indigenisation and Manufacturing Depot (CIMD), Nashik.

As part of IAF’s focus on Self-Reliance and Atmanirbhar Bharat mission, IAF is giving impetus to fast tracking of indigenisation as well as enlarging the scope of involvement of Indian aerospace and defence industry especially, MSMEs. Towards this, IAF has already identified indigenisation requirements of approximately 4000 lines of spares. Critical requirements for indigenisation include aviation grade filters (fuel, hydraulic & pneumatic), aeroengine bearings, hydraulic and pneumatic hoses, multifunction displays, aviation grade circuit breakers, lamp filaments, spark plugs, etc to name a few. Enormous opportunities are available for the aerospace and defence industry partners in India including MSMEs to join hands with IAF in this vigorous indigenisation drive.

In addition to manufacture of spares and aggregates, another area of focus of IAF is to engage with the Industry to set up repair and overhaul (ROH) facilities within India for high value rotables/repairables. In achieving this objective, IAF aims to accrue huge savings to the financial exchequer, besides developing and encouraging in-house MRO facilities, thereby leadingto reduced timeframes for repair and enhanced operational availability of assets.