Author: AVM SN Murti (Retd)
Introduction
Air Power is not only the most mobile arm of military, it also provides mobility to other forces. Achieving Air superiority during the initial phase of any hostilities, boosts free mobility of surface transportation, sea lanes and helps in rapid deployment. Maintaining Logistics to the land forces, in time and as required, is essential and possible by ensuring sustained Air Superiority. During 1971 conflict with Pakistan, IAF flew 2000 sorties against 40 by PAF in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Such high level of Air Superiority completely crippled logistics to Pak forces and 93000 soldiers surrendered.
Sustaining Air Superiority requires availability of adequate number of aircraft, trained personnel and facilities. It is obvious that several cases of battle damage occur and capability to repair and bring the aircraft back to battleworthy state, in short time is essential. Required number of aircraft available at all times will aid in sustaining Air Superiority. During the Gulf War-I out of 144, A-10 aircraft, 70 sustained battle damage. The allied forces had 150 trained Aircraft Battle Damage Repair Teams (ABDR) deployed and these teams ensured quick turnaround and met the required numbers for combat.
In the case of a prolonged armed conflict control of air space will be a major factor. Apart from ABDR teams, routine maintenance of aircraft would become critical. To meet the enhanced requirement of flying efforts, there are provisions to extend aircraft flying hours and the scheduled major servicing is delayed that allows the aircraft to fly beyond permitted limits. Such measures are effective in case the conflict is for a limited period. During the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak conflicts IAF flew close to 3937 and 6000 sorties respectively. Both these wars were all out wars fought for few days. Though the Kargil conflict was a limited war still close to 6,500 sorties were flown in 60 days. These three conflicts give us an idea of the flying efforts that armed forces should be able to sustain.
Asymmetry in Aircraft Strengths
One-front war and Two-front war are considered for wargaming and during military exercises. Further, in case of any hostilities with China or Pakistan, insurgencies and locally radicalised elements are likely to be more aggressive. Supply of sophisticated and advanced weaponry to these outfits by the adversary cannot be ignored. Extensive use of DRONEs by these rogue elements will have to be factored. In case of war on western front, India is well equipped to repulse enemy designs and the war is not likely to last for a long period. However, in case of hostilities with China the war may escalate to two fronts, unless Pakistan comes under heavy international pressure and forced to refrain from its direct engagement with Indian forces. In that case Pakistan’s support to insurgents is expected to be more aggressive. These insurgents may not be armed with Air Power but most likely to use small and medium size Drones. Attacks using these Drones can cause Damage to the airfield and aircraft positioned at western front. Aircraft strengths of India, China and Pakistan is depicted in the Table below.
| Country | India | PLAAF | Pakistan |
| Fighters | 900 | 2000 | 550 |
| Transport | 265 | 300 | 70 |
| Helicopter | 600 | 250 | 50 |
| *Other ser | 400 | – | 250 |
| TOTAL | 2000 | 4000 | 900 |
*Include Indian Army, Indian Navy and Coast Guard. All figures are indicative and the Information is obtained from the open source
In case of a Two-front war India will be up against 3000 fighters. Comparatively low fighter aircraft strength of 900 with IAF can be seen as a major impediment. This can be countered by launching more sorties, meticulous Air Defence planning and other factors that the IAF and sister arms are well equipped to deal with. Also, China shares border with 13 other countries and therefore will not deploy its entire strength on LAC. Geopolitical and strategy not being the scope of the subject matter, further focus will remain on meeting the required aircraft availability. The attrition in aircraft strength during the war will depend on the Loses in combat, Battle Damage, and number of sorties flown per day. Duration of conflict will play a major role in sustaining the air efforts. Russia – Ukraine war is a live example of prolonged conflict in spite of large military and economic asymmetry. It was expected that Russia could achieve its goal in reasonably short time. Russia had close to 900 fighters compared to Ukraine’s 124 Combat ready aircraft. Similarly, Russian GDP stood at 2.2 Trillion USD compared to Ukraine’s GDP of 160 Billion USD. However, it is almost two years and there seem to be no end to this war. In-spite of huge asymmetry the war has prolonged. The military and monitory support from USA and NATO nations is seen as the main reason for Ukraine to sustain the war expenses. Similarly, in an eventuality of Indo-China conflict, support from Quad and other nations for India is expected. China in this case is likely to have support of Pakistan in meeting some of its requirements and will up the ante on the western border by regular insurgency and violations. It is also important to note that Russia in this case may remain diplomatically neutral. All out support from Russia and seamless supply of spares and armament cannot be presumed. India having majority of its aircraft from Russia, may find difficulty in sustaining the required air efforts. As the war progresses, the depletion in aircraft strength, especially that of combat aircraft, may put India in a disadvantageous position. During the first few months of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Russian Aerospace Force (VKS) was flying as many as 150 to 300 sorties per day, compared to peacetime rate of 60 sorties per day. This has dropped to 100-120 sorties a day when war prolonged beyond expected duration. This additional flying effort has resulted in grounding roughly 67 aircraft after consuming the available airframe hours during the first year of the war.
Therefore, in all probability of a prolonged war with China on Eastern front, it is necessary that adequate Repair and Overhaul (ROH) facilities are available within the country. Reduced turnaround time for carrying out aircraft major servicing can enhance availability. An echo system incorporating both Civil and Military facilities for undertaking Battle Damages repairs and Repair and Overhaul (ROH) of aircraft is required. Enhanced capability to turnaround aircraft grounded after consuming their Air Frame hours is no less than a force multiplier. The present capacity of IAF and HAL will fall short of meeting the anticipated enhanced requirement of two to two and half times the installed capacity. The quintessential during the conflict, would be in recovering Battle Damages, while the ROH lines function unhindered. The trained manpower of IAF would remain engaged in routine maintenance and ABDR teams. Therefore, the existing capacity will not be able to cope with war time ROH requirements. The depletion of aircraft strength, due to exhaustion of Airframe hours and number of landings will be considerable. Maintaining required strength of aircraft for sustaining the air effort, will be challenging. The turnaround time (TAT) for carrying out major checks is high and manpower intensive. Enhanced supply of spares for under taking ROH and maintaining these lines will not be as smooth as in peace time. During the war commercial airlines are used for transporting troops and equipment. This boosts the overall mobility. Similarly, services of civil aircraft MROs existing in the country should combine with military capability for enhancing it up to the required capacity. The Repair and Overhaul (ROH) of military aircraft by civil MROs cannot be easily adopted. Supply of spares for under taking major maintenance and maintaining these lines are unlikely to be very smooth. Therefore, Civil-Military convergence and clear protocols amongst Civil MROs and IAFs capabilities need to be established, during the peace time. A strategic plan to effectively use established and wide spread network of civil MROs need to be set forth. It is clear that the existing military capacity alone may not be able to cope with war time requirement alone, especially when it is going to last for a long duration.
To overcome the likely shortages, it is essential that both Military and Civil MROs come together and form a larger pool of resources. The services of well-established MROs like Air India Engineering Services (AIES), GMR Aero tech, Indamer Aviation Pvt Ltd (IAPL), Air works India and AAR-Indamer Technics, Airbus-Indamer etc. can be sourced. These MROs can easily fill the capacity gap, provided they are in continuity of performing the task of military aircraft ROH. This would require Training, infrastructure, coordination and continuity of performance and audit. These MROs should therefore be engaged during the peace time, in carrying out Major Military aircraft maintenance for seamless adaptation of technology and regulations. Civil MROs should also be encouraged to establish independent spares supply chains. Government of India is regularly following it up for achieving high degree of Civil-Military cooperation and in making India a Global MRO hub. An echo system encompassing and integrating Production companies (HAL, TASL), Spares Sourcing Agencies (Air HQ procurement and Specialist Directorates), Civil Aviation MROs and Base Repair Depots (BRD) is required to be established. Their synergy will ensure sustenance of Air Superiority in case of a prolonged conflict. Comprehensive studies on MROs in India were under taken by Deloitte and Bureau of Research of Industries and Economic Fundamentals (BRIEF), New Delhi in Nov 2021 and Oct 2022 (The study reports are available on their respective web sites). The studies mainly focus on suggesting the way forward for Indian MROs to be competitive and enhance their business share. Unfortunately, Civil-Military co-operation amongst MROs and defence services are not dealt by these studies.
Existing Repair and Overhaul Environment in IAF
IAF relies mainly on Base Repair Depots (BRD), HAL, OEMs and OEM approved facilities for major maintenance and Overhauling. IAF has three Aircraft Depots catering to specific types of Russian Fighters, Transport, and Helicopters. Repair and Overhaul of jet engines is undertaken exclusively by a BRD which is well established for jet engines ROH. Turboshaft and Turboprop Engines are overhauled at Helicopter BRD. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. provides ROH facilities for Jaguars, Mirage and Su-30MKI. Also, HAL has MRO facilities for indigenous Dhruv Helicopter and some of the aero-engines. Going by the experience of previous five wars that India has fought, one can say that more than 300 sorties per day will be under taken in the event of any war in future. It is expected that the fleet will be depleted by 65-75 aircraft within one year, for the reasons of exhausting their airframe hours or number of permitted landings. These many aircraft on ground would be over and above those lost or damaged beyond repairs. During the war time BRD trained personnel strength will also deplete drastically as they will be deployed on BDRTs and meet enhanced maintenance requirements. HAL will also have limited capacity for similar reasons of enhanced production of spares requirement and providing support in recovering Damaged Aircraft for which they are the primary support agency.
Options with IAF
There are at least 10 major aircraft MROs like AIESL, GMR Aero Tech, Bird Execujet, Indamer Aviation Pvt Ltd, Indamer Technologies and Air works. These MROs are wide spread and have good infrastructure and engineering facilities. In addition to the established MROs there are 107 CAR-145 approved facilities for aircraft, Helicopter and components. There are 91 Non-Scheduled Aircraft Operators (NSOP) and several of them having their own CAR-145 approval and undertake various stages of maintenance checks. All combined, there is a wide spread network of small Medium and large MROs in India and their potential and capacity can be tapped and utilised during the war time, provided these entities are earmarked, trained and equipped.
Aircraft MRO Facilities in Civil Aviation
MROs are responsible for restoration process through scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. Aircraft MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) refers to the companies that provide services to ensure keeping aircraft in safe and operational condition. MROs are approved by Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) under Civil Aviation Regulation (CAR-145). There are 142 MROs approved under CAR-145 and spread all over India. These numbers are very impressive but misleading as all MROs don’t undertake full scale heavy maintenance checks. Most of the CAR-145 approved organisations undertake single activity or component repairs like Propeller, Battery charging, Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) read out, Wheels, Brakes, Cabin Refurbishment and Cabin Equipment repairs.
Indian MROs having hangars and bases at multiple locations within the country are best suited for synergising with IAF. In addition, there are MROs established for providing services to the NSOP. In fact, they are the engineering vertical of the operator. Obviously, these are small and serve very specific purpose. Then there are third-party MRO which extends their services to various operator through long term contracts and also under take major maintenance on case-to-case basis. Third party MRO service providers like Air Works India and Indamer Aviation are in existence for more than 75 years and are well-established. There are around 10 to 15 MROs having wide spectrum of facilities and infrastructure with trained and qualified manpower, suitable for co-opting with military aviation and meet national security requirements.
Utilisation of MROs by Defence services is possible by having a structured model, incorporating all aspects of organisation, regulations and economics. Hon’ble Aviation Minister Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia has announced “New MRO Policy for Civil Aviation” on 09th Sep 2021. This policy is intended to boost and encourage growth of Civil Aviation MRO industry by announcing various concessions on land allocation, rentals and taxation. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been proactive in providing regulatory support and ensuring compliance with safety standards in the MRO sector. This has helped build trust and confidence among airlines and customers, contributing to the growth of the industry. This industry is poised to grow from 1.7 BUSD to 4.0 BUSD by 2031. India in coming decade will see sizable growth in MRO infrastructure. This could be utilised for national security requirements. Civil-Military cooperation will have a booster effect in making India an MRO hub. The global growth in MRO business in the world will grow up to 107 BUSD of which Indian MRO share is expected to be at 4.2 BUSD.
The Indian share of MRO market is just 2.4 % of global market and is poised to grow to 3.3% by 2031. Clearly, the country that boasts of fastest growing Aviation Market is lagging in setting up its own maintenance infrastructure. India is poised to be third largest aviation market in the world but much below when it comes to the MRO market share. Synergy amongst Civil-Military MROs will promote growth in global market share and prepare them as national strategic assets.
Growth in Indian MRO Industry
The MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) industry in India has witnessed growth in recent years. Required Policy push from GOI has seen forward movement. There are multiple factors contributing to the growth of MRO industry that is associated with growth in aviation as such. The civil-military synergy can boost this growth and place Indian market share comparable to its overall position in aviation sector.
Aviation Market
India’s aviation market has been experiencing growth, leading to an increased demand for maintenance services. The growing number of airlines, both domestic and international, has contributed to the expansion of the MRO industry. This growth can further be boosted by adding military component.
Government Policies
The Indian government has introduced National Civil Aviation Policy that would promote the MRO sector. The policy aims to attract investments, enhance infrastructure by simplifying regulations. This could further be boosted by including MROs as part of Defence contract, offset clause. Offset ensures 30% of contract value is ploughed back into the country. There should be policy alignment towards this in relevant manuals and procedures for new aircraft inductions in service.
Rise in Demand for Maintenance Services
There has been a significant increase in demand for domestic MRO services. Several Indian companies have invested in developing state-of-the-art facilities, including hangars, workshops, and equipment, to cater to the maintenance needs of both domestic and international aircraft. India has 130 NSOP and Private operators, combined together they operate 330 aircraft. Most of these operators prefer to enter into long term maintenance programmes for spares and engines. These operators send their aircraft abroad for major maintenance on the recommendations of the OEM, who insist on a particular MRO for sustaining the maintenance programs that are offered like Maintenance and Spares Plan (MSP) and Engine Availability Plan (EAP). NSOPs enjoy import duty exemption from the GOI, in return these operators should be insisted upon selecting all maintenance under MSP and EAP be from Indian MRO. The OEM must support operators in choosing an Indian MRO and help establishing and obtaining regulatory approvals by providing the required equipment and training the manpower through a policy decision. This would ensure development of MRO capability for General Aviation (GA) Sector. Few of the GA aircraft are platforms for airborne sensors used by military services for surveillance and their major maintenance can be undertaken within the country.
Low Cost and Taxation
Availability of skilled manpower at competitive rates, favourable exchange rates, and low overhead costs are some of the factors that are in favour and India can be an MRO hub. Further, reduction in GST to 5% from 18% and revision in rental and allotment of land at Airport are some of the Policy changes that make Indian MROs cost Competitive.
International Collaborations
Collaborations and partnerships with international companies has seen growing expertise, advanced technologies and practices. These collaborations have helped in raising the quality and capabilities of the Indian MRO industry. AAR-Indamer Technics, Airbus-Indamer collaboration for helicopters, HAL-Airbus for A320 are some the examples. Increased collaboration is likely to attract business share of foreign operators.
Expansion of Infrastructure
India has witnessed infrastructure development, including the establishment of dedicated MRO facilities and maintenance bases at various airports across the country. This expansion has increased the capacity to handle a greater volume of aircraft maintenance and repairs, adjacent to the major international airports.
Regulatory Support
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been proactive in providing regulatory support and ensuring compliance with safety standards in the MRO sector. Implementation of e-Governance of Civil Aviation (eGCA) ensures speedy clearances and approval in licencing and maintenance process. This has helped build trust and confidence among airlines and customers. Recently, India jumped to 48th position from 102nd in global aviation safety ranking. This shows all around seriousness and importance attached to aviation field.
Skill Development
There are 108 training centres accredited by Aerospace and Aviation Sector Skill Council (AASSC). These centres are involved in capacity building by providing technical inputs and industry interface. The government and industry stakeholders have placed emphasis on skill development, to address the growing demand for skilled MRO professionals. This focus on skill development ensures a steady supply of skilled personnel for the industry. Formal education on Aircraft Maintenance is imparted through 49 institutes which are CAR-147 compliant and approved by DGCA. Not all these institutes are affiliated to a university therefore, a vast difference in standard of one institute to another is clearly seen. Standardising the curriculum under CAR-147 is one aspect of AME training, however, formal education by affiliation to a university should be made compulsory for overall development of the budding aircraft technicians and Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME). This is one area that require attention.
Growing Aircraft Fleet
The expansion of airline operations in India has resulted in a larger aircraft fleet. As aircraft age and require maintenance, the demand for MRO services increase, creating opportunities for the industry to grow further. Recent orders of 1000 airplanes by AI and Indigo have drawn lot of attention in the media. In case the contracts cater to setting up maintenance facilities and supply chains, then large growth in MRO and training institutes will be visible in near future.
All parameters are aligned in favour of Indian MRO industry. The present global share of business is of course not expected to grow very fast compared to some of the south east nations and middle east. MRO is a capital intensive and highly competitive. Moreover, schemes like MSP and EAS leave no choice with operator but to position aircraft abroad on OEM’s insistence. Co-operation between civil MRO and defence establishment will ensure regular flow of revenue that would sustain quality and competitiveness, amongst MROs. Figure below depicts the cost that an operator incurs on various aspects that are involved. The percentage brake down on spares vs man-hour cost clearly shows that the Airframe repair is labour intensive whereas it is revere in case of Engine repair. Further engine repair facility requires more capital expenditure on precession machines and also requires a test bed for running the engine off wing. That is the reason for most of the third part MROs not establishing full scale Engine repair facilities.
MRO earn mainly through the manhours spent on Airframe repair and overhaul. Aero engine MROs earning is exactly opposite and incur heavy inventory cost. The Engine maintenance program offered by the OEMs, give aircraft operators an outlook on the life-cycle cost and peace of mind. These programmes are paid on hourly engine operation basis, with a range of services. Most of the operators enter into Maintenance and spares program (MSP) for Aeroengine. Also, engine OEMs offer various other schemes, like Engine Assurance Program (EAP), so that an operators’ aircraft doesn’t get grounded for a long period. With such schemes aero-engine MROs can sustain only in case the MRO is an OEM approved facility and provides services under various programmes.
Civil – Military Cooperation
Any defence contract worth more than Rs.2000 Cr and above has an offset clause of minimum 30%. That means almost one-third of contract value is ploughed back into Indian defence industry through investments. Such investments have seen setting up Engine MRO by OEM and many other activities requiring “Transfer of Technology” (TOT) and development projects within IAF or any other OEM selected facility. In case part of offset can be utilised by providing technology, training, equipment and ground support aggregates to an OEM selected Indian MRO then Civil -Military synergy can start from induction onward, for a particular aircraft. In addition, Indian Armed Forces should share part of their annual task with civil MROs. That would prepare the civil industries to share the additional load of ROH, which is likely to arise during any hostilities. By this Civil MROs would have required tools, equipment, technology and trained manpower. Time is ripe for Civil-Military Cooperation is taken beyond the boundaries of IAF-HAL. The task sharing during peace time should spread into civil aircraft MROs. That would help achieving the ultimate goal of MROs taking up Military tasks during the hostilities and join hands in the interest of National Security. It is essential to incorporate defence vertical in the designated and suitable MRO. This vertical in liaison with defence forces can formulate the requirements and identify the aircraft for which the MRO should establish facilities of major checks and overhaul. The safety and regulatory aspects and audit cover be provided by the agencies like CEMILAC and DGAQA.
The MRO can be designated for one or multiple type of military aircraft. The designated manpower and engineer can be trained. For maintaining the continuity and skill levels the trained manpower be deployed to undertake ROH of at least one aircraft at IAF premises and vice-versa. This would not only maintain continuity of skill, will also upgrade and keep MRO abreast of any changes in schedules and procedures. Further in case of requirements additional manpower, trained MRO personnel can be utilised by IAF on contract basis. In the long run MRO can also create alternate supply chains for the spares. Ex-servicemen and Agni Veers can find employment opportunities in these MROs.
MRO for India Manufactured Aircraft
Indian defence services are going to induct more and more indigenously developed fighter aircraft like Tejas, AMCA, Dhruv, LUH and Prachanda helicopters. Also transport aircraft C-295 that is being manufactured by a private consortium in India, will be inducted in substantial numbers. In the past HAL had provided ROH facilities to the aircraft manufactured by them, for example Chetak, Dhruv, Mig-21 and other aircraft manufactured under licence production. India’s ambition to manufacture fighter aircraft and helicopters for IAF and other friendly countries, will keep manufacturing lines busy for a long time. It would therefore be prudent on the part of HAL to help private partners setup MROs. This would ensure HAL concentrate on production and their support to MROs will ensure sustained business for them to grow. There can be multiple MROs for one type. Similarly, airbus can help setup MRO facility under the aegis of TASL. Therefore, Indian MRO should create essential components in their organisational structure and exploit into the defence sector. Figure below is indicative of a typical MRO with defence vertical.
Conclusion
Overall, the MRO industry in India is experiencing a study growth, driven by a supportive regulatory environment, increasing aviation market, infrastructure development, cost competitiveness, and collaborations with international players. The future prospects for the Indian MRO industry remain promising as the aviation sector continues to expand. Civil-Military cooperation can play role of a booster in the growth process. Policy incorporation in various manuals, regulations and documents is necessary for formal implementation. Choice of offset partners amongst MROs be encouraged by the MoD. Defence acquisition policy may lay down the criteria for selection. Defence Procurement procedures and Defence procurement manual should spell out economic model for revenue generation. Close co-ordination between MoD and MoCA will help in laying down the policies. Last but not the least, aircraft MRO industry should not be perceived as one of the private enterprises. Their potential can be exploited to be National Asset, that can boost military capability in times of National Security Requirement.
References: –
1. National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016
2. Deloitte, MRO in India-Poised to take off, November 2021, (file:///C:/Users/My%20PC/Desktop/Inds_International_Reserch_Forum/in-fa-MRO-in-India-Poised-to-take-off-noexp%202.pdf)
3. BRIEF, NITI Ayog, MRO in India-Trends, Challenges and way- forward, October, 2022, (file:///C:/Users/My%20PC/Desktop/Inds_International_Reserch_Forum/MRO_Report-FINAl.pdf )
4. http://www.dgca.gov.in (CAR-145, CAR-147, CAR-M & CAR-66)
5. DAP-2020, CHAPTER II, ACQUISITION PROCEDURES FOR CATEGORIES UNDER ‘BUY’
AND ‘BUY AND MAKE’ SCHEMES, para 29 “Offset”, pp 31
6.https://www.airforce-technology.com/features/india-vs-china-indian-air-force-iaf-vs-peoples-liberation-army-air-force-plaaf/?cf-view
6. MILITARY USE OF CIVIL-REGISTERED AIRCRAFT, Duncan P. Blake and Ian S. Henderson (file:///C:/Users/My%20PC/Desktop/Inds_International_Reserch_Forum/Chicago_convention_Civil_Aviation.pdf)
7. Strategic direction for aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul hub after crisis
Recovery by Jirapan Liangrokapart, Thaninrat Sittiwatethanasiri, Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Thailand, Navaminda Kasatriyadhiraj Royal Air Force Academy, Royal Thai Air Force, Thailand (available on line May 2022)
9. Refining Draft Defence Offset Guidelines 2020, Laxman Kumar Behra, (https://www.idsa.in/policybrief/refining-draft-defence-offset-guidelines-2020-lkbehera#:~:text=Summary%3A%20The%20draft%20offset%20guidelines,tight%20on%20their%20larger%20objectives).
[This article was was published in Indus International Research Forum Year Book of strategy 2024. Published here with the permission of the author]
AVM Rajiv Gandotra
Excellent and comprehensive articulation of an apt topic which merits urgent attention of various stakeholders and policymakers.
Establishment of Indigenous MRO Capabilities is a strategic and tactical step towards self-reliance as well as sustenance during armed conflicts.
SN Murti
Thanks for your valuable remarks Rajiv.