Following supply disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Indian Air Force (IAF) indigenized over 3,000 aircraft components, saving foreign cash worth Rs 160 crore between January 2022 and June 2023.
According to Air Marshal Vibhas Pande, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Maintenance Command, these savings were only from the first procurement cycle, and greater savings were projected in the future. According to him, the IAF's stocking policy and indigenization initiatives assured that Russian jets like the MiG-29 maintained their operational capability, but if the conflict continued, more indigenization would be required.
Air Marshal Pande added that although Russia had not given India access to all of the technology...