Indian Air force wants to source Rafale parts locally

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi , April 11

The Indian Air force (IAF) has embarked on a journey to source some components locally for frontline fighter jet Rafale and heavy-lift helicopter Chinook.

A meeting of the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) is scheduled with the Chandigarh-based 3 Base Repair Depot of the IAF. A date for meeting is being planned from next month.

The IAF has provided a list of select items to the industry asking if anyone can produce these in India. Most items on the list comprise parts that are replaced after a defined period of time and don’t form operating systems such as engines or onboard computer hardware or software. Some others are ancillary equipment that do not impact the operation.

The IAF has provided a list of 52 parts of Rafale that it can source from the Indian industry. In case of Chinook, the IAF is looking for 27 parts to be sourced from India.

Sources said the list of parts “is a requirement of the IAF that it believes can be sourced from India”. The specifications have to match the original parameters set by Dassault in case of Rafale and Boeing in case of Chinook.