Gandhinagar (Gujarat): Boeing has announced a significant expansion of its partnerships within the Indian Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) ecosystem over the last year and said that the MRO to support Indian customers efficiently, remains a top priority for the company.
Boeing has concluded considerable work agreements and deliveries with diverse indigenous partners across the public as well as private sectors, including AI Engineering Services Ltd., Horizon Aerospace, and Air Works Group.
According to an official statement, in 2021, Boeing launched the Boeing India Repair Development and Sustainment (BIRDS) program in its effort to help develop India into a regional MRO hub, enabling engineering, maintenance, skilling, repair and sustainment services of defence and commercial aircraft in India, for India.
Under the initiative, Boeing has strategically collaborated with Air Works, to recently complete Phase 32 heavy maintenance checks of six P-8I maritime patrol aircraft for the Indian Navy.
The company has also collaborated with AI Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), for MRO of the Boeing 777 VIP aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force, and the P-8I aircraft fleet operated by the Indian Navy. Additionally, the company is exploring collaboration in repair and overhaul of landing gear and other commercial common 737NG equipment fitted on the P-8I fleet.
It has also collaborated with Horizon Aerospace, for MRO of the three key Boeing defence platforms in India, the P-8I operated by the Indian Navy (IN), and the VIP 737 transport fleet operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India said, "Over a seven-decade presence in India, Boeing knows that a strong local aerospace and defence ecosystem is an imperative for the business as much as it is for the success and mission-readiness of its customers. We have continued to invest in building indigenous MRO capabilities over the years, and with the BIRDS hub launched in 2021, are building a network of Indian suppliers that can support engineering, maintenance, skilling, repair and sustainment services of defence and commercial aircraft comprehensively and competitively."
"An important aspect of the BIRDS hub is training programs that are helping develop sub-tier suppliers and medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) to build high-quality MRO capabilities in India," he added.
The efforts and initiatives being undertaken by Boeing in India are aimed at building the capability and capacity of indigenous organizations to gain prominence on a global scale.
"Our planned strategic collaboration with indigenous companies under the BIRDS hub program enables us to provide significant value-add to our customers locally by enabling faster turnaround, exceptional operational capability and mission readiness for the Indian armed forces. This also marks as an important step as part of our commitment to the Government of India's Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision of making India a regional MRO hub", managing director of Boeing Defence India, Surendra Ahuja, said.