By Dr (Prof) Nishakant Ojha
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the fourth largest air force in the world with approximately 150,000 personnel and about1,500 aircraft. In its long journey, since its inception, the IAF has always kept abreast with the rapid pace of technology changes in the field of military aviation and not only procured and upgraded its inventory of various aerial platforms like fighters, transport, helicopters, Airborne warning and Control Systems (AWACS), Flight Refuelling Aircrafts (FRA), drones etc but also has upskilled its technical crew and adopted best maintenance practices to achieve the highest maintenance safety standards for all the combat equipment; be it aircrafts, weapons, air defence systems or operation support and communication systems.
In the formative years after independence, though the IAF, for obvious reasons, was mostly equipped with British aircrafts and equipment, very soon not only the IAF but the Indian army (IA) and the Indian Navy (IN) equipped with mostly Russian origin military equipment. The IAF inventory kept swelling with Russian origin military aviation platforms like MiG-21( later MiG-21 Bison), Su-7, MiG-23, MiG-27, MiG- 29 and the most recent Su-30 along with large number of transport aircrafts IL-76, AN-32, IL-78 and helicopters of medium lift Mi-17, heavy lift Mi-26 and attack helicopters Mi-25/35. In the late eighties, the IAF commenced diversification of inventory with Western fleet aircrafts like Jaguars and Mirage-2000; however the largest inventory of the IAF still continues to be of Russian origin.
Prevailing Situation and Emerging Criticality
The India under present Prime Minister Narendra Modi has focussed its nation building under “AtmaNirbhar” concept and the IAF is no different. There is a sustained effort to become self-reliant in the defence sector in all aspects. It is well understood and an accepted fact that while there is an impetus on Atma Nirbharta, the existing inventory has to be efficiently managed for sustaining the operations till such time the self-reliance in all fields is achieved and the present equipment is completely phased out.
In recent years a large number of factors have affected not only the inventory status of the IAF but also its procurement and maintenance. Since the largest inventory is of Russian origin, the situation becomes even more critical in the light of the present geo-political crisis faced by the world due to ongoing special operations by Russian forces in Ukraine. Since the Indian military equipment is mostly from these two countries, the maintenance and supply chain of spares would be severely affected.
The status of the IAF military aviation equipment as on date is as enumerated below:-
(a) Gradual phasing out of old inventory aircrafts like MiG-21Bison, MiG-23, MiG-27 and induction of a large number of SU-30 with likely induction of Light Combat Aircrafts (LCA) in the near future. On the similar lines, upgradation of existing inventory MiG-29, Jaguar and Mirage-2000s with induction of Rafale with IN procuring MiG-29 K.
(b) The IAF along with helicopters of IA and IN have a large inventory of versions of Russian origin Mi-17 viz. Mi17, Mi17 IV, Mi17V5 with a limited inventory of recent induction of US origin Apache and Chinook helicopters.
(c) The status of the transport fleet is nearly the same. The Russian origin IL-76 medium/heavy lift transport aircraft along with AN-32 continue to be the workhorse in maintaining the logistics supply chain for IA troops deployed against Chinese forces in the treacherous areas of Northern and Eastern hostile borders of India. The recent inductions of US origin C-17 and C-1130 heavy/medium lift aircraft have, no doubt, provided a respite to the “over- flogged ” Russian origin aircrafts. Even the AWACS and FRA aircraft are based on IL-76 and IL-78 platforms respectively.
Existing System of Maintenance and Present Status
The IAF operates and maintains the fleets as per their defined role. Operational Maintenance i.e. Operational and Inspection (O and I level Maintenance) is done by the IAF field units itself. The higher-level maintenance i.e. Depot level or(D level Maintenance) is done for limited platforms and is undertaken at designated Base Repair Depots (BRD). However, for Materials and Spare Parts support, there is almost complete dependence on the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). In order to have an unbroken supply chain of spares being maintained, the IAF has number of large equipment storage units called Equipment depot (ED).Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) activity, in most cases of inventory of IAF aircrafts is being undertaken by OEM at their premises i.e. in Russia/Ukraine. Such activity takes a long time due to the lead time required and the aircrafts remain “off-line” for long durations, thereby affecting the serviceability and availability of aircrafts for operations. The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) is the largest repair and overhaul establishment in India that undertakes licensed production of certain aircrafts while for others it undertakes major overhauls alongside O, I & D level under OEM authorisation and licence.
MRO Support:
Present Status of product support for O, I & D level MRO support is as follows:-
(a) SU30-MKI.
(i) Licenced Manufacturing : HAL
(ii) D level maintenance : HAL and IAF
(iii) Material/Spares/Tech support : OEMs in Russia
(b) MiG 29 and MiG 29 UPG.
(i) ROHand Upgrade : IAF BRD
(iii) material/Spares/Tech support : OEMs in Russia
(i) O and I level maintenance : IAF
(ii) D level maintenance : OEMs in Russia
(iii) Material/Spares/Tech support : OEMs in Russia
(iv) Major repairs and upgrade : OEMs in Russia
(d) Mi 17/Mi17 IV, Mi17V5.
(i) O and I level maintenance : IAF
(ii) D level maintenance : IAF
(iii) Material/Spares/Tech support : OEMs in Russia
(iv) MRO : Limited capacity**
(v) Manufacturing/ repairs of rotor Blades : Not yet set up in India**
(vi) Repairs of critical components : Not yet set up in India**
(e) Kamov Heptr (IN)
Complete maintenance : OEMs in Russia
** –These are critical requirements that need urgent attention and setting up of MRO facility with OEM support is an inescapable requirement for Mi-17 fleet as the IAF has a large fleet operating in air maintenance operations in support of IA as well as these helicopters are invariably engaged in VVIP commitments and Humanitarian And Disaster Relief (HADR) Operations almost throughout the year.
Conclusion
MRO is an important activity in an aircraft’s lifespan, and its cost and time for overhaul affect operations. Complex, vital, yet distinct from manufacturing. MRO of aircraft and associated equipment requires skill, experience, and an OEM licence because of human safety, aviation safety, and expensive equipment. MRO thus becomes one of the most critical activities of the existing inventory of military aviation assets viz. fighters, transport and helicopters as well as High Value Air Assets (HVAA) like AWACS and FRA.
As is obvious from the above details that the IAF, to a very large extent, is dependent on Russian / Ukraine OEM for not only the major maintenance, but also the material and spares support and “unbroken supply chain” of all testers, equipment, weapons and critical items. Setting up of MRO support mechanisms in India looks highly attractive under Make in India incentives and there is a huge potential for product upgrades and new products’ introduction in Indian markets/ neighbouring countries. The challenges are fast increasing in dimension with the present ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and need immediate solution with concrete steps taken to at least establish OEM supported MRO and supply chain storage facilities in India on highest priority.
The author is Advisor- Cyber & Aerospace Security and Eminent Expert- Counter Terrorism (West Asia & Middle East).
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