![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/assests\/2026\/08\/2-4.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
New Delhi: Faced with months-long delays in spare parts from Russia, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has begun 3D printing rubber components in-house to keep its Russian-origin fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters operational.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, officials said a Base Repair Depot (BRD) has been tasked with producing non-critical rubber parts such as seals, gaskets, brackets, ducts and rubberised fabric linings using 3D printing technology.<\/p>\n
The initiative is now being expanded to critical components. \u201cEarlier we depended on injection and compression moulding that required expensive moulds and months of lead time. Now we can design and print a part within days without any special mould,\u201d a source at the depot said.<\/p>\n
The move is part of the IAF\u2019s push to overcome crisis.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s fleet of 270 Sukhoi-30MKIs, 70 MiG-29s and Mi-17 helicopters has been hit hard as Moscow\u2019s defence industry struggles due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.<\/p>\n
According to the IAF\u2019s \u2018Sankalp-2026\u2019 document, the service has listed consumables and maintenance items as priority areas for domestic industry to fill gaps.<\/p>\n
In a parallel step, the IAF and IIT-Bombay have developed a physics-informed AI model that works as a \u201chealth index\u201d for each Sukhoi-30MKI engine.<\/p>\n
Analysts say the 3D printing and AI initiatives reflect New Delhi\u2019s challenges and its urgency to sustain its Russian-origin fleet amid strained supply chains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: Faced with months-long delays in spare parts from Russia, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has begun 3D printing rubber components in-house to keep its Russian-origin fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters operational. According to Kashmir Media Service, officials said a Base Repair Depot (BRD) has been tasked with producing non-critical rubber parts such …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":208302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"yoast_head":"\n