Tata Power To Upgrade Indian Air Force Airfields

(Avaitionweek) : Private utility Tata Power has won a contract to modernize the capabilities of India’s airfields, giving a boost to private sector participation in the country’s defense sector.
The 10.94 billion rupee ($249 million) project is the largest contract ever awarded to an Indian private company for the defense sector. Rahul Chaudhry, CEO of Tata Power’s Strategic Electronics Div. (SED), said April 11 that the contract will allow for improvement of airfields’ capability to handle the modern combat fleet being inducted by Indian air force (IAF).
The contract is from India’s defense ministry for its Modernization of Airfield Infrastructure (MAFI) program, which involves upgrading 30 air bases in its first phase. The IAF already has begun deploying Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters at several air bases along the country’s borders.
The first phase of the project is expected to be executed over the next 42 months, according to a defense official. This will be followed by the MAFI Phase II contract for refurbishing another 28 air bases. Among the first airfields to be upgraded are Hindan in Ghaziabad nearNew Delhi, Bathinda in north India’s Punjab state and airfields along the India-China border such as Chabua, Tezpur and Hashimara, the official says.
“Tata Power SED has been closely working with the ministry of defense and DRDO [Defense Research and Development Organization] to provide state-of-the-art solutions to Indian armed forces for the past four decades,” Tata Power’s Chaudhry says. “This contract . . . is a watershed moment, not only for us, but also for increasing private sector participation in [the] Indian defense sector,”
Under the contract, state-of-the-art air traffic management systems will be installed, along with Category-2 airfield lighting systems and navigational aids that will permit flying operations at night and in adverse weather. Additionally, the MAFI project will provide airfields with integrated landing systems, upgraded communication systems, digital measuring systems, VHF omni range, range navigation aids and modern meteorological facilities, the defense official says.
In January, the ministry released the first Defense Production Policy that explicitly encourages the private sector to enter defense production.