Deputy Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, has inaugurated a new manufacturing facility aimed at reducing India's dependence on imported chaffs and flares, which are crucial for military aircraft self-defense systems.

Established under the Make in India initiative, this facility will produce various chaff sizes for aircraft such as the Mirage 2000 and MiG 29. Economic Explosives Limited, with support from the Defence Laboratory in Jodhpur, has set up the plant, making it the first advanced technology facility in India for producing chaff fibers.

The new facility will manufacture Chaff 118, 50 mm, and 26 mm, which are used not only by Mirage 2000 and MiG 29 but also by Jaguars, helicopters, and other aerial platforms in the Indian armed forces. Chaffs are widely used expendable electronic countermeasure devices that generate false targets for radars and enemy missiles, thereby confusing hostile radars. These systems are also employed on VVIP aircraft like the Embraer and larger platforms such as Aerial Early Warning and Control Systems.

This initiative is expected to cut costs and reduce India's reliance on imports, which are predominantly sourced from the UK. In the last financial year, the armed forces placed orders worth at least Rs 7 billion for these systems. The establishment of this plant under the Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured) category is a significant step towards self-reliance in defense manufacturing.

(Source: ET)