The following measures have been instituted to support indigenisation of spares and systems:

Positive Indigenisation List: In pursuance of India’s endeavor for self-reliance, Ministry of Defence is promulgating ‘Positive Indigenisation Lists’ at periodic intervals. The fifth PIL was released in October with 98 items, out of which 13 pertain to IAF.

Srijan Defence Web Portal: A list of 630 spares has been uploaded on www.srijandefence.gov.in website towards seeking feasibility for indigenous development. 78 companies have shown interest so far.

Inter Governmental Agreement: An IGA was signed in September between India & Russia for enabling manufacture of Russian Origin Spares in India. A series of JVs have been signed by Indian companies towards fructification of the same.

Industry Outreach: To bring together the users from the IAF and the Indian Defence industry representatives to discuss, identify and understand problem areas, Industry Outreach was planned by undertaking visits to IAF bases. Two Industry Outreach events were conducted at Air Force Station Bareilly and Air Force Station Pune in September and October respectively. The station authorities organized the visit, providing guided tours to various sections within the Station. Industry representatives were given the chance to engage in discussions and Q&A sessions with Air Force experts in their respective fields, facilitating knowledge exchange and networking.

Space Industry Outreach: Of the total 29 DefSpace challenges pertaining to IAF (12 iDEX and 17 Make challenges), High Power Steering Committee (HPSC) meeting for 12 iDEX has been concluded. iDEX winners for eight DefSpace Challenges and one open challenge were announced in October. Selection of winners for the four iDEX DefSpace challenges is under progress at DIO. Feasibility study for the Make I and II DefSpace challenges are under progress. PDC for completion of Feasibility Study for all Make challenges is 31 Dec 23.

Signing of MoUs: IAF entered into 21 MoUs with Academia, Educational Institutes and DRDO labs for cooperation and promotion of R&D in areas of mutual interest.

Indigenisation of CU of LLLWR: To achieve self-reliance in the maintenance and upkeep of the IAF’s Low Level Light Weight Radars, a contract for design and development of three critical components was signed with BEL. The high altitude field trial of one such component was completed successfully. The case for procurement of these is now under progress.

Indigenisation of Parachutes: Almost 90-95% of pilot parachutes and brake parachutes in use by IAF have been indigenised by ADRDE within a timeframe of two years.

ALSO READ: DEFENCE REVIEW 2023 – Indian Navy Modernisation and Indigenisation

Indigenous ‘Miniature Detonating Cord’: The firing trials of the indigenous Miniature Detonating Cord (MDC) for the Hawk Aircraft Canopy Severance System were successfully completed in November. Airworthiness clearance for use on fleet is under progress. The effort will mitigate delays in supplies of imported MDC.

Modification of Electric Operating Fire Extinguisher Cartridges: The modification was successfully completed through OF, Khamaria and AQAW(A), Khamaria to address quality issues of earlier design. The modified carts were inducted in service in July.

Development of Unexploded Ordnance Handling Robot: Project on development of UXOR for disposal of UXOs with the technique of water cutting jet was pursued with R&DE (Engg), Pune. Three prototypes had been developed based on approved ASQRs. Procurement of UXOR was taken up through FTP route. Contract has been signed with Hi-Tech Robotics Systemz Ltd, Gurugram for UXORs in September.

MRSAM: Five Firing Units and one training centre of MRSAM system have been commissioned in IAF in this year. System has been successfully deployed.

Project SAMAR: IAF has successfully indigenised the prototype of ground based platform for firing Air-to-Air missile under project SAMAR. Fabrication of SAMAR Firing Units (FUs) have been successfully completed this year. SAMAR FUs were delivered to field units and firing is planned in Dec 23.

Self-Reliance Plans: The Russia-Ukraine conflict has resulted in inability to send major aggregates like the aero-engines, critical avionics and specialist wpns abroad for Repairs and Overhaul. To mitigate the situation, 44 shortlisted projects pertaining to Russian Fighter, Transport and Helicopters are being progressed through OCPP under the following categories:

Life Extension.

Development and execution of ROH technologies for Airframes, Electro-Mechanical rotables, avionics, EW systems of AN 32, Mi Series helicopters.

Repair and refurbishment of Russian ALMs and Russian aero engines and avionics.

Replacement of avionic aggregates.

A comprehensive self-reliance plan to engage the Defence Industrial Corridors at Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu has been chalked out. Regular interaction has been established with UPEIDA and feasibility to identify the domain specialists, academia and MSMEs/Industry partners is being explored. A meeting with Tier-I industries of TIDCO was conducted in September at Chennai to highlight the indigenisation projects under OCPP with the IAF team led by AOM. The industries were appraised in detail on the indigenisation requirements of IAF. The team visited Research Park at IIT Chennai on 13 Sep 23 and interacted with the potential Industry partners who could take on the task.

New Acquisitions and Trials

A-321 aircraft: Pre-owned Airbus A-321 were acquired by DRDO from Air India for AEW&C role. They are available for utilisation by IAF before they are modified. Aircraft and aircrew were made operational at the earliest and IAF has commenced the Courier operations since May 2023. The A-321 scheduled flights to Srinagar, Guwahati and Bagdogra have augmented IA movement plan and the courier ops from Kolkata, Chennai and Port Blair has benefitted the ANC AoR.  MoU for handling by Air India at all IAF and Non IAF bases has been signed.

C-295 aircraft: First C-295 MW aircraft arrived in India on 20 Sep 23 and was inducted into the IAF on 25 Sep 23. The ageing Avro aircraft would be replaced by C-295 MW aircraft. With the delivery of remaining ac from May 24 onwards, the first unit is likely to be functional by end of year 2024. The induction of C-295 fleet will boost IAF’s airlift capability and increase the versatility of ground forces.

LCA Mk1 Twin Seater Delivery: Delivery of Twin Seaters, LCA Mk1 IOC and FOC contracts have commenced.   PM flew in SPT-1 with Gp Capt D Mandal on 25 Nov 23. He was the first PM to fly a fighter aircraft.

ALSO READ: DEFENCE REVIEW 2023 – Army’s Operations and Transformation Milestones

HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft: HTT-40 is a basic trainer aircraft used for training of ab-initio pilots. The aircraft is indigenously designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The contract for supply of HTT-40 was signed on 06 Mar 2023.  As per contract, deliveries of the aircraft will start from Sep 2025.

Dornier-228 Aircraft: Dornier-228 is light weight transport Aircraft utilized by IAF for communication, route transport and casualty evacuation. It is manufactured locally by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). A contract for supply of Dornier-228 Aircraft and associated equipment was signed on 10 Mar 2023.

Digital Receiver-118 (DR-118) RWR for Su-30 MKI aircraft: A contract for Digital Receiver-118 (DR-118) RWR for Su-30 ac along with associated equipment has been signed with M/s BEL, BC on 23 Mar 23.

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The government will keep 51% equity with an Indian company, while asking the foreign partner to do technology transfer, the people said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are at an early stage. The jets, which typically seat less than 100 people, are likely to be produced in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, they said.

The world’s fastest-growing aviation market is trying to ramp up its small-plane fleet as airports with limited capacity and short runways are not equipped to handle narrow-body planes of Airbus SE and Boeing Co. that dominate the Indian skies. This will help the government bolster tourism and facilitate faster access to remote areas in the South Asian giant of 1.4 billion, which recently has been seen to surpass China in population.

India mandates airlines operate at least 10% of their capacity on remote routes, including Kashmir and the Northeast bordering China, which means smaller planes could be more efficient for airlines as they can fill a larger share of total seats.

Airbus SE estimates India will need 2,210 aircrafts by 2040 and 80% of them will be smaller jets. The country has piqued global turboprop makers’ interest, with De Havilland Aircraft planning to seize 80% of its market for smaller planes of less than 20 passengers.

Regional Workhorse

India has completed preliminary discussions with Embraer, while Sukhoi has expressed interest in manufacturing regional jets locally, the people said. In addition, the country has also approached ATR, a joint venture between Airbus and Leonardo SpA of Italy, to make in India, they added.

Embraer said India has “significant opportunities” for regional jets and the manufacturer “continuously looks for ways to collaborate with India to find win-win solutions”. Representatives for Sukhoi, ATR and the aviation ministry didn’t respond to emails seeking comments.

ATR small planes are the workhorse of regional routes in India with the nation’s top carrier, IndiGo, operating 39 of them. Rival De Havilland’s Dash-8 Q400 turboprops, which seat between 78 and 90 people, are operated by SpiceJet Ltd. State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. is already manufacturing the 19-seater Dornier 228 aircraft used by the armed forces and Alliance Air.

The plan is vital to Modi’s push to promote manufacturing and boost economic productivity while creating jobs. The government is strengthening last-mile connectivity by giving subsidies to airlines to make air travel more economical. As part of a regional connectivity program, India has allocated 45 billion rupees ($545 million) to develop 100 inadequately-served airports, heliports and water aerodromes, besides opening 1,000 new routes by next year.

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