Maintaining the tempo of modernisation of the armed forces, the Defence Ministry on Friday signed a contract worth over Rs 1,200 crore with Tata Power SED for upgradation of 37 air fields of the IAF, Navy and Coast Guards. Defence Minister Rajnath Nath had earlier approved the project,known as Phase Two of Modernisation of Air Field Infrastructure (MAFI).
The second phase is a follow-on programme based on MAFI Phase-I that included upgradation of 30 airfields of IAF. The airfields modernised under MAFI Phase-I have been of immense benefit to both military and civil users.
The project is a turnkey project that includes installation and commissioning of modern airfield equipment like Cat-II Instrument Landing System (ILS) and Cat II Air Field Lightning System (AFLS). The modern equipment around the airfield will also be directly connected to Air Traffic Control (ATC), thereby providing excellent control of the airfield systems to the air traffic controllers, defence ministry officials said here. The upgradation of navigational aids and infrastructure under this project would enhance the operational capability by facilitating air operations of military and civil aircrafts even in poor visibility and adverse weather condition while enhancing aerospace safety.
The contract will provide impetus to the domestic industry in the prevailing situation. The project will give a boost to over 250 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises which will be directly benefited from being involved in execution of various activities of this project, they said. This contract would aid in infusing the much-needed capital in the market and boost employment generation in such fields as communications, avionics, information technology, apart from civil and electrical equipment and construction.