21–27 September 2026
This Week in Indian MRO
This week produced three developments that go directly to the depth of India’s MRO capability: local engine support for commercial aircraft, closer engagement between the Indian Air Force’s repair organisation and private industry, and indigenous lifecycle support for the Army’s large T-72 and T-90 tank fleet.
On 23 September, StandardAero and GMR Aero Technic announced a Supplier Service Agreement to provide enhanced on-wing engine support in India for CFM56-7B, LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines. This is particularly important because these engines power the Boeing 737NG, Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX families that form an important part of India’s narrowbody fleet.
On 21 September, an industry delegation organised by the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers visited 5 Base Repair Depot and 43 Wing at Air Force Station Sulur to examine IAF maintenance challenges, component-level support, testing, calibration and opportunities for indigenisation. This was an industry-engagement initiative rather than a new MRO contract, but its focus was directly on transferring more sustainment work into Indian industry.
Also on 21 September, the Ministry of Defence signed a ₹586-crore contract with Accurate Industrial Controls for indigenously developed Auxiliary Power Units for the Army’s T-72 and T-90 tanks. The government explicitly linked the programme to reliability, sustainability and indigenisation of critical armoured-platform subsystems.
The connecting theme is important: Indian MRO is gradually moving from performing maintenance towards controlling more of the engineering, components and industrial capacity required to sustain equipment throughout its lifecycle.
Civil Aviation MRO
StandardAero and GMR Bring Narrowbody Engine Support Closer to Indian Operators
The week’s most significant civil-MRO development came on 23 September, when StandardAero and GMR Aero Technic announced their new engine-support agreement.
The initial scope covers on-wing support for three important CFM engine types:
CFM56-7B — Boeing 737NG
LEAP-1A — Airbus A320neo family
LEAP-1B — Boeing 737 MAX family
StandardAero says Indian operators already have approximately 1,000 LEAP-1A/-1B engines in service and another 3,200 on order, while more than 100 CFM56-7Bs remain in service.
The scale explains why this agreement matters.
Engine MRO is one of the highest-value areas of commercial aircraft maintenance. India has developed considerable capability in line and airframe maintenance, but deeper engine and component work remains essential if a greater proportion of aviation MRO expenditure is to remain within the country.
The new agreement does not establish complete LEAP or CFM56 engine overhaul in India. StandardAero’s major LEAP capability remains at its San Antonio facility, while its CFM56 overhaul and test facilities include Winnipeg and Dallas-Fort Worth.
That distinction is important.
What the agreement does establish is a route for more on-wing engine support to be delivered locally through GMR Aero Technic.
This can reduce the need to move aircraft or engines overseas for interventions that can be accomplished on-wing and can help reduce aircraft downtime.
The progression is:
On-wing support in India → Quick-turn capability → Component repair → Engine shop visits → Deeper overhaul capability.
If partnerships of this type continue moving along that chain, India’s engine-MRO ecosystem will become considerably more valuable.
Air India and SIAEC Put Workforce Development on the MRO Agenda
At MRO Asia-Pacific on 22 September, Air India discussed its work with SIA Engineering Company to develop the skills and technical capability required for India’s expanding MRO industry.
The underlying Air India-SIAEC MoU itself is not new this week; it was signed on 3 July 2026 and should not be reported again as a fresh agreement. Air India’s official announcement says the companies are exploring broader cooperation that could eventually include an Indian MRO joint venture.
What is new this week is the emphasis placed on workforce and capability development as that collaboration progresses.
That matters because hangars alone do not create MRO capacity.
A sustainable MRO ecosystem requires licensed engineers, technicians, inspectors, planners, component specialists and experienced supervisors. Air India’s large fleet expansion will create demand for all of them.
The Indian MRO challenge is therefore simultaneously a capacity problem and a skills problem.
Defence MRO—Air
Industry Goes Inside 5 Base Repair Depot
A particularly relevant development for defence MRO occurred during the week when a SIDM industry delegation visited 5 Base Repair Depot and 43 Wing at Air Force Station Sulur.
The programme exposed participating companies to IAF requirements involving aircraft MRO, component-level support, testing, calibration, sustainment and indigenisation. The interaction with 43 Wing also covered operational and technical requirements associated with the LCA Tejas programme.
This is important because India’s Base Repair Depots contain decades of experience sustaining military aircraft and equipment.
Historically, much of this capability has resided inside the Air Force’s own maintenance organisation and defence public-sector ecosystem.
Closer engagement with private companies and MSMEs creates an opportunity to broaden the supplier base.
The potential progression is:
IAF identifies maintenance problem → Industry understands requirement → Indian company develops replacement or repair → Component is tested and qualified → Domestic supplier enters the sustainment chain.
This is one of the most practical routes towards MRO indigenisation.
Instead of attempting to recreate an entire aircraft domestically, industry can progressively address imported components, obsolete equipment, test systems, calibration requirements and recurring maintenance problems.
The Sulur engagement should therefore be judged by what follows it: actual indigenisation projects, qualified repairs and production orders.
Defence MRO—Land
₹586 Crore Indigenous APU Programme for T-72 and T-90 Tanks
The week’s most important land-systems lifecycle development came directly from the Ministry of Defence.
On 21 September, the Ministry signed a ₹586-crore contract with Accurate Industrial Controls Private Limited for indigenous Auxiliary Power Units for the Army’s T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks.
An APU supplies electrical power to systems including the fire-control system, firing circuit, gun stabilisation equipment and other tank auxiliaries without relying continuously on the main engine.
The Ministry says the indigenous APUs will improve the operational readiness, reliability and sustainability of India’s mechanised formations.
The programme originated under the Make-II framework, meaning industry-led development has now progressed into production and induction.
That transition is significant.
India operates large fleets of Russian-origin T-72 and T-90 tanks. Their long service lives create continuing requirements for spares, engines, electronics, optics, tracks, fire-control equipment and other subsystems.
Every subsystem successfully indigenised reduces a particular external dependency.
The lifecycle progression is therefore:
Imported tank → Indian replacement subsystem → Indian spares → Indian repair capability → Indian upgrade capability.
This is a useful example of how MRO can become a route towards technological self-reliance even when the original platform was foreign-designed.
Defence MRO—Sea
No major new naval repair, refit or overhaul contract was verified for the 21–27 September reporting period.
That is worth stating rather than recycling earlier announcements.
The Cochin Shipyard-Drydocks World initiative to expand ship-repair capability in Kochi remains one of the important recent developments in Indian maritime MRO, but it predates this week’s reporting window and therefore should not be presented as fresh news.
Indian naval deployments and exercises continued during the reporting period. These are not MRO developments and should not be presented as such. They do, however, reinforce the importance of logistics, technical availability and maintainability when Indian naval platforms operate away from their home support infrastructure.
The larger maritime-MRO story therefore remains one of capacity. India’s growing naval and commercial fleets require substantially more domestic dry-docking, repair, refit, component overhaul and propulsion-support capability.
Industry & Policy
This week’s developments demonstrate three different mechanisms through which Indian MRO capability can deepen.
The StandardAero-GMR agreement uses international aftermarket expertise combined with an established Indian MRO organisation.
The 5 BRD-SIDM engagement attempts to expose Indian private industry directly to military maintenance and indigenisation requirements.
The T-72/T-90 APU contract shows what can happen when industry progresses further: an indigenous solution moves from development into contracted production and fleet induction.
These represent three stages of industrial development:
Collaboration → Indigenisation → Production.
The most successful MRO policy would connect all three.
Foreign expertise can accelerate capability building. Military and civil operators can identify real maintenance requirements. Indian companies can then develop, qualify and manufacture solutions.
The result is not simply a larger maintenance market. It is a deeper industrial base.
What It Means for Indian MRO
This week’s developments illustrate why MRO should increasingly be regarded as part of India’s manufacturing and technology strategy.
Maintenance begins with restoring equipment to service.
But every recurring maintenance problem creates an engineering question:
Can the component be repaired locally?
Can the spare be manufactured locally?
Can an obsolete part be redesigned?
Can the test equipment be developed in India?
Can the subsystem eventually be improved?
That creates a progression:
Maintain in India
→ Repair in India
→ Overhaul in India
→ Manufacture the replacement in India
→ Engineer the upgrade in India
→ Design the next generation in India.
The StandardAero-GMR agreement sits near the beginning of this progression for modern narrowbody engines: it increases local on-wing support while deeper overhaul capability remains overseas.
The 5 BRD engagement is aimed at moving more Air Force sustainment problems into Indian industry’s hands.
The T-72/T-90 APU programme has moved further: an Indian company has developed a critical subsystem and received a production contract for fleet induction.
Taken together, they demonstrate what a mature Indian MRO ecosystem could eventually look like.
MRO would no longer be simply a service performed after equipment fails. It would become part of a continuous industrial cycle:
Operate → Maintain → Diagnose → Repair → Redesign → Manufacture → Upgrade.
That is the point at which MRO begins contributing directly to technological sovereignty.
Sources
- StandardAero — 23 September 2026. “StandardAero Teams With GMR Aero Technic To Support Operators in India.” Official announcement covering the Supplier Service Agreement and on-wing support for CFM56-7B, LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines.
- Ministry of Defence / Press Information Bureau — 21 September 2026. “MoD inks Rs 586 crore contract to procure Auxiliary Power Units for T-72 & T-90 Tanks.” Official government announcement covering the contract with Accurate Industrial Controls and the Make-II background.
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2313016
- Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers / industry reporting — September 2026. Industry delegation to 5 Base Repair Depot and 43 Wing, Air Force Station Sulur, covering aircraft MRO, component support, testing, calibration, sustainment and indigenisation.
- Aviation Week — 22 September 2026. “Air India, SIAEC Target MRO Skills As India Fleet Expands.” Report from MRO Asia-Pacific on workforce and capability development for India’s expanding MRO sector.
- Air India — 3 July 2026. “Air India inks agreement with SIA Engineering Company for collaboration on MRO.” Official background source for the existing Air India-SIAEC collaboration; this July agreement is not presented as new September news.