Indian Air Force to use AI-enabled drones for inspecting aircraft engines

Vijay Mohan

Chandigarh, April 28

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is developing an artificial intelligence-based drone system to carry out inspection of aircraft engines that would replace the conventional manual methods of carrying out such checks.

The system would consist of high-resolution cameras mounted on a mini or micro drone, imaging software and machine learning algorithms to detect, identify and classify defects like cracks, corrosion, dents, distortion and damage on external and, to some extent, internal components.

According to IAF officers, the present procedures of aero-engine inspection is labour intensive, time consuming and prone to error. The new system, being developed under the aegis of the Maintenance Command, seeks to overcome the drawbacks of the existing methods.

The drone will be used for fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters. Air intake ducts, exhaust nozzles, engine hubs, turbine blades, propellers and rotors are among components that can be inspected by the drone.

Inspection of aero engines is a critical aspect of flight safety and reliability of an aircraft. Besides engines being routinely checked both before and after a flight, the IAF has a structured programme for carrying out inspection and overhaul depending upon the periodicity, flight hours or complaints of malfunction.

The drone will use adjustable cameras to capture high resolution images, which will then be transmitted in real time to engineers and technicians through a wireless link for automated processing, analysis and documentation.

Apart from combat, surveillance and intelligence gathering, the IAF is introducing various types of drones for automating other routine tasks at its bases.

One such project is the use of drones for carrying out daily inspection of runways and dispersal bays for any damage or the presence of foreign objects.