Naval Aircraft Yard celebrates golden jubilee

The Naval Aircraft Yard (NAY), Kochi, is celebrating the golden jubilee of its service to the naval aviation on February 4.  The celebrations include a national seminar on  ‘Innovative Approaches to Sustenance of Naval Aviation Maintenance Infrastructure in the Coming Decades.’ Several professional papers will be presented at the seminar on aviation maintenance philosophy and allied subjects. 

NAY started in 1956, when a small fleet repair unit was set up at Kochi by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore, to repair and maintain aircraft of Navy. On 5 February, 1960, the Indian Navy took over the responsibility of this facility and commissioned it as the Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation (Naro). Naro over the years grew to a full-fledged industrial establishment with facilities for repair of aircraft, engines, avionics and their components. The facility was redesignated as Naval Aircraft Yard, Kochi, on April 20, 1981. In the late 90s, contemporary facilities such as engine repair & overhaul facility, Centre for Avionics Repairs and software development, structural repair facility were set up.

 

Today, NAY boasts about 600 employees on its rolls, of which 430 are civilian. It has many significant achievements such as refurbishment of Alize aircraft, modifications to Chetak helicopters for the first-ever aero magnetic survey of Antarctica in 1987, conversion of Islander aircraft from piston engine to turbine engine in 1996  and suitable modification to Seaking helicopters to overcome sanctions post-Pokhran.