Article Posted on : - Feb 03, 2021

BENGALURU (PTI):  Crown group, which specialises in defence aerospace maintenance, today announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Russian aircraft corporation MiG for providing post-warranty support to the Indian Navy's MiG-29K and MiG-29KUB fighter jets.

The Delhi-based group in a statement said that one of its companies Aviatech Enterprises Pvt Ltd (AEPL) has entered into a "framework agreement" with joint stock company MiG in this regard.

Besides defence aerospace maintenance, the group also specialises in repair and operations, and aviation engineering services.

The group has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russian company United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) for maintenance and servicing of Indian Navy ships.

"AEPL will be the in-country authorised partner for RAC MiG for providing post-warranty product support for MiG 29K/KUB aircraft, associated systems, ground support equipment and special to type test equipment in the inventory of the Indian Navy," the statement said.

The Indian Navy currently has around 40 MiG-29K (single seat) and MiG-29KUB (double seat) aircraft in its fleet.

AEPL's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rear Admiral (retd) Srinivas Kanugo said, "The association of Indian partner, AEPL, in the follow-on support contracts addresses critical maintenance, logistic and supply chain issues on a 24X7 basis, thus enhancing the availability of aircraft and associated systems."

The framework agreement has been concluded between AEPL and MiG under an inter-governmental agreement that was signed between India and Russia in September 2019, the statement said.

On servicing of navy ships, the group said that its exclusive cooperation agreement with the USC also covers "manufacturing and supply of spares" for the Indian Navy.

The MoU was signed on Wednesday between USC and OSK India, a company of the Crown group.

CEO, OSK India, Commodore (retd) Rakesh Anand said, "The Indian Navy possesses a substantial fleet of Russian warships and submarines which have been acquired over the years."

"These ships and submarines require continuous maintenance support so as to be combat ready," he said.