After making components for P-8I reconnaissance aircraft in India, Boeing looking at maintaining it here

After successfully increasing the level of India-manufactured components in Poseidon-8I aircraft aircraft maker Boeing is now looking at further expanding it by also setting up maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) infrastructure for its upkeep, Boeing officials said Thursday.

Often described as ‘India’s eye in the sky’, the P-8I has the capability of being airborne for about ten hours with a full payload of advanced weapons.

“The other major opportunity is about building an MRO infrastructure in India. The [order] for additional aircraft in India will help us increase the number of critical components in the overhaul unit. That will help deliver a sustainable and self-reliant advantage for India,” Dan Gillian, Vice President & General Manager of Mobility, Surveillance and Bombers at Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said, during an interaction with media persons in New Delhi.

The Indian Navy had signed a contract for eight P-8I aircraft for $2.1 billion in 2009, including options for four additional aircraft, for which another billion-dollar contract was signed in 2016. In February 2022, Boeing delivered the twelfth aircraft to the Indian Navy.

Referring to the programme, Scott Carpendale, Vice President Asia-Pacific, Boeing Global Services for Government Services said the proposal for setting up MRO infrastructure in India was all about building on the successes here.

“Self-reliance for us means building on success stories that we have around us such as 40,000 flight hours and the operational efficiency of the aircraft continues. That is the unique selling proposition for us to continue expanding our flight path globally… the ability to support these aircraft with Indian suppliers as well as expand the local MRO infrastructure,” observed Carpendale. 

In May 2020, India launched the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan or self-reliant India programme to encourage world-class manufacturing domestically. Over the years, Indian suppliers’ engagement with P-I8 manufacturing has become a metaphor for self-reliance in cutting-edge defence manufacturing. 

For his part, the country’s Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has been aggressively promoting the country as the ‘New Promised Land’ for aerospace manufacturing.

Rapid expansion of component manufacturing

From just 30 employees and a handful of suppliers, the P-8I India ecosystem has grown to 5,000 employees and 300 suppliers. This has resulted in an economic impact amounting to $1.7 billion to support the current P-8I aircraft fleet in service. The future delivery of an additional six aircraft will help increase this by another $1.5 billion, according to company data.

The aircraft, which is based on Boeing’s popular 737 next-generation platform, has become an integral part of the Indian Navy’s fleet since its induction in 2013. The company has also facilitated the founding of the Ashok Roy Training Simulator Complex at INS Rajali and the Kochi training complex, inaugurated in April this year. The latter features a state-of-the-art simulator for P-I8 air crew and technical team training to substantially reduce on-aircraft training time, boosting mission proficiency and aircraft availability for the navy. 

Meanwhile, another six P-8I may be required by the navy to meet its reconnaissance requirements in the Indian Ocean, Boeing has said.

“According to our internal estimates, the Indian Navy may need to have a 24 P-8I fleet to meet its security needs. However, as the end-user, they know best,” Alain R Garcia, Vice President of International Business Development, told Business Today.

Amid the emergence of an increasingly belligerent China and growing tensions in the South China Sea region, India is increasingly being perceived as a counter to the Middle Kingdom by the US and its NATO allies leading to enhanced defence cooperation between the two.

Also Read: India emerging as the new ‘promised land’ for global aerospace manufacturing: Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia

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