Defence ministry plans to rope in Indian Cos for care of western aircraft

As part of its 'Make in India' initiative, the defence ministry is now looking to engage the domestic industry to set up repair and overhaul facilities for Western aircraft. 

According to an Economic Times report, the initiative from the defence ministry can help in increasing the availability of the platforms, while also creating significant job opportunities in the aerospace sector.

In order to rope in the companies, a capability assessment is ongoing, which will help in understanding the currently available infrastructure along with the future plans of Indian companies interested in setting up of repair and overhaul facilities. 

According to the report, the defence ministry is calling Indian companies for meetings, and once the capability assessment is complete, steps would be taken to hand over contracts.

The move comes as maintenance support contracts of a few western aircraft are coming to an end, including the Rafale fighter jet. The ongoing exercise is being undertaken before the contracts are renewed with the original manufacturers. It will also be a test for foreign suppliers that made promises of shifting the repair and overhaul facilities to India during the time of purchase.

Earlier in February 2023, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called for joint efforts to develop India as a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) hub. Singh also proposed that there should at least be 50 per cent of indigenous content when it comes to support and maintenance of the new systems which are being acquired.

The report also suggests that other than Rafale, the C 130J transport aircraft and the Chinook and Apache helicopters are among the other aircraft that could be brought under the initiative. 

Most Russian-origin aircraft have already completed their repair and overhaul facilities in India. It is also guessed that the price of repair and overhaul support for military platforms through their service life can extend to twice or thrice the initial purchase price.