Indian Aircraft Industry: Possible Innovations for Success in the Twenty-First Century

Vivek Kapur

India’s Aircraft Industry, despite having been formed as early as in December 1940 has been unable to meet the equipment needs of the aviation users, whether military or civil, in the country. As a consequence India imports all its aircraft needs from abroad. This situation needs to change.

This book starts from an examination of the importance of aviation to the country both for military as well as or civil purposes. From here it goes on to trace the development of aviation in India. Then the book examines the Indian Aircraft Industry from studying the aircraft projects carried out by India. From these aircraft projects lessons and learning have been culled for use later in the book. Thereafter there are case studies carried out of the two leading airpower capability countries, the USA and erstwhile Soviet Union / Russia. There are also case studies of Brazil and China as these two countries were behind India in aviation in the 1950s but are globally competitive today, unlike India.

The lessons and learning from the case studies are compiled and then used finally to develop possible models that could help make India’s aircraft industry globally competitive.

Vivek Kapur Group Captain Vivek Kapur was commissioned in the Indian Air Force (IAF) in June 1985. He has since flown fighters extensively with command tenures in front line operational squadrons. He earned an Executive MBA degree from Faculty of Management Studies, (Delhi University) in 2009. He enrolled in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in January 2014 and earned his PhD from School of International Studies (SIS)/ JNU with effect from 30 June 2016. He has served in instructional positions in flying as well as higher education training in IAF training facilities. He has served as a Research scholar at IDSA from December 2011 to December 2013 and has been a Senior Fellow at Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) since then.

Contents

Introduction

Preface

Acronyms

1. Genesis and Early Growth of the Indian Aircraft Industry
2. Indian Aircraft Industry: Learning from the Past
3. Innovation: Practical Application in Development of the Indian Aircraft Industry
4. Development of Aerospace Industry in China and Brazil
5. Aerospace Industry in US and Erstwhile USSR/Russia
6. Key Takeaways from Case Studies of Other Countries’ Development Processes
7. Possible Models for India’s Aircraft Industry
8. Conclusion
Index