Indian P-8I aircraft to be fully serviced in country
With new domestic facilities for maintenance, the navy's P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft can now spend all their downtime in India

The 12th Boeing P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance (LRMR) being delivered to the Indian Navy on February 23, 2022 | Photo: Boeing

The Indian Navy’s Boeing P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft are now capable of being fully serviced and maintained without having to leave the country.

After assessments by Boeing of the facilities offered by independent MRO contractors in India for engine and landing gear maintenance, the navy’s P-8I aircraft can now undergo complete maintenance cycles in India.

Managing Director of Boeing Defence India, Surendra Ahuja told media at Aero India 2023 last month, “We have heavy maintenance and checks — the heavy maintenance of the P-8 gets done in India at a local MRO called Air Works. And they do a great job. Subject matter experts from Boeing have checked them out — their quality is as good as anywhere in the world. We have identified and assessed another local MRO called AI Engineering Services (AIES) Limited for landing gear overhaul on the P-8 — so when the landing gear comes up for overhaul, we will get it done there. We have also assessed AI Engineering Services Limited for the engines of the P-8. So come to think of it, P-8 will not have to leave India for any type of sustainment activities.”

Vice President and General Manager of Government Services for Boeing Global Services, Torbjorn (Turbo) Sjogren, explained, “Air Works does a great job. For us to set up an MRO here, we’re not really going to add much value. Our engineering authority, our parts and our data analytics is one thing. Their ability to bring a lot of skill, a lot of experience and a lot of quality, as we have assessed them, allows them as our partner, to do well.”

Air Works hands over the last of six P-8I aircraft at Hosur to Boeing and the Indian Navy after completing Phase 32 heavy maintenance checks on the aircraft in August 2022 | Photo: Boeing

Ahuja said, “A lot of this gets done at INS Rajali itself, by the navy. And all that it cannot do, gets done in Hosur, at the Air Works facility. And engine and landing gear overhaul will happen at AIES, at different places in the country.”

This maintenance arrangement is expected to go live this year. “No engine has come up for overhaul, yet. When it comes up for overhaul, it’ll be done in India. The landing gear is coming up for overhaul for the first time, later this year and it’ll be done in India. Other overhaul work is already happening at Air Works. So the P-8 doesn’t have to leave India,” he said.

These facilities could theoretically also be taken up by commercial airlines that operate the Boeing 737 aircraft, upon which the P-8I is based. “If airlines were to want to use Indian MROs, they can get almost everything done in India. It’s just that Indian MROs, from that perspective, may not necessarily be competitive and that’s why some airlines fly their aeroplanes abroad,” pointed out Ahuja, adding that maintenance by Indian MROs takes the same time as done by U.S. MROs, ‘if not faster’.

Other military operators of the P-8 aircraft in the region, especially the U.S. Navy, could also take up the option for maintenance of their aircraft in India.

Sjogren explained that while Australia has set up its own facilities for P-8 sustainment because of the large size of its fleet, other operators in the region like South Korea and New Zealand could consider sustainment in India for their smaller number of P-8 aircraft. “When Korea and New Zealand come aboard, there will arguably be an opportunity — I doubt that New Zealand is going to set up (maintenance facilities) because they just don’t have enough aircraft — I doubt that they’re going to set up a capability like Australia has or like India has. So that’s clearly going to be an opportunity. Korea is in a similar way.”

An Indian Navy P-8I aircraft on exercise with Royal Australian Air Force and U.S. Navy P-8 aircraft at Darwin, Australia in September 2022 | Photo: Indian Navy

“I would expect that if a U.S. Navy aircraft had an issue in this area and it needed this kind of work — I would anticipate that there is a very strong likelihood that some of that work would be done over here — particularly if the aircraft’s AOG (Aircraft On Ground),” he said, adding, “I think we’re going to start seeing more of that, not just because we do such a great job up in Rajali or Goa — I think, frankly, urgent operational needs are going to drive some of that.”

But that apart, he said, “There will be some countries that do not have enough aircraft for it to make economic sense for them to create their own (maintenance facilities). And I think there is going to be a competition for that. And I think India is extremely well placed to do that.”