Operating as it does a variety of aircraft types of foreign-origin ranging from the legacy MiG-21 Bison to the new generation Rafales, “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 (BROs) of the IAF located in various parts of the country and No. 1 Central Indigenisation and Manufacturing Depot (CIMD), Nasik. According to the IAF spokesmen, this is “part of IAF’s focus on self-reliance and the Aatmanirbhar Bharat mission, the IAF giving impetus to fast tracking of indigenisation as well as enlarging the scope of involvement of Indian aerospace and defence industry especially, MSMEs. The IAF has already identified indigenisation requirements of approximately 4000 lines of spares. Critical requirements for indigenisation include aviation-grade filters (fuel, hydraulic & pneumatic), aero-engine bearings, hydraulic and pneumatic hoses, multifunction displays, aviation grade circuit breakers, lamp filaments, spark plugs, amongst others. 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”. The IAF seeks to engage with Industry for setting up repair and overhaul (ROH) facilities within India for high value retables/repairables. “The IAF aims to accrue huge savings to the financial exchequer, besides developing and encouraging in-house MRO facilities, thereby leading to reduced timeframes for repair and enhanced operational availability of assets”.
IAF aircraft on display included the MiG-29UPG, Jaguar DARIN-III, Tejas LCA and the Rafale.