The Indian Naval Aviation has achieved 90 % of indigenisation in the category of non-flight-critical components and it was looking for capable industry partners to build more numbers of flight-critical and mission-critical components, said Rear Admiral Deepak Bansal, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air Materials). The percentage of indigenisation achieved by the Naval Aviation in the areas of the most sophisticated flight-critical and mission-critical components was one to two % and 30 to 40%, respectively, he said. “Flight-critical items are those on which the safety of the entire aircraft will depend. Such items are very very few that we have been able to indigenise. Because they are the most difficult ones like the engine and controls. Some parts of that could be indigenised but not as the entire aggregate,” said Rear Admiral Bansal on the sidelines of a Naval Aviation Industry Outreach Programme held at Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (Codissia) trade fair complex in Coimbatore.

According to him, a mission-critical component is not like the flight-critical. If it fails, the mission will fail but the aircraft will remain safe. Non-flight-critical components are support equipment like jacks, platforms, towing arms, trolleys etc. “Non-flight-critical items are low-hanging fruits which are plucking first. They are easy to do and the certification is simple. That is why we are trying to attract industries.

Flight-critical is the most challenging one,” he said after visiting the Codissia Defence Innovation and Atal Incubation Centre (CDIIC), a defence innovation hub. The Rear Admiral said that the Naval Aviation was trying to find out the best of the industry and handhold them with the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), a laboratory of the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Bengaluru. “We are having regular meetings with them so that handhold can be given to the industry partner and take them through various steps so that they will develop confidence. That is our endeavour,” he said. He said the Naval Aviation Indigenisation Roadmap is promulgated every five years. “As of today, the road map is for 2022 to 2027. But we always renew it. When we are successful in some category, we delete it and add new ones. All these items, whatever we want, are coming with a problem statement. As of today 585 items are there in the roadmap,” he said.

CDIIC director R. Ramamurthy said that around 50 industries from the region are catering to the defence sector. “The Defence Ministry has identified 700 items required for the sector and given us a list last week. Industries will take it up and move forward,” he said.