Indian Naval Aircraft Yard at Kochi turns Fifty

Naval Aircraft Yard (NAY) Kochi is celebrating the Golden Jubilee on 4th February. The celebrations lined up include a national seminar on the subject “Innovative Approaches to Sustenance of Naval Aviation Maintenance Infrastructure in the Coming Decades”. Several professional papers are being presented at the Seminar on aviation maintenance philosophy and allied subjects. A large number of serving and retired Navy officials are expected to join in the celebrations at Kochi.

NAY, Kochi started in 1956, when a small Fleet Repair Unit was set up at Kochi by M/s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore to repair and maintain Navy Aircraft. On 05 Feb 1960, the Indian Navy took over the responsibility of this facility and commissioned it as Naval Aircraft Repair Organization (NARO). The NARO over the years grew along with the growth of the Indian Navy, to a full fledged industrial establishment with state of art facilities for repair of aircraft, engines, avionics and their components. The facility was re designated as Naval Aircraft Yard, Kochi on 20 Apr 1981. In the late nineties, contemporary facilities such as Engine Repair & Overhaul Facility, Centre for Avionics Repairs and Software Development, Structural Repair Facility and many other workshops for component repairs of aircraft were set up. Today, NAY boasts of about 600 employees in its rolls out of which, significantly, nearly 430 are civilian personnel.

NAY, Kochi has over the years, many significant achievements such as refurbishment of Alize aircraft, modifications to Chetak helicopters for the first ever aero magnetic survey of Antarctica in 1987, conversion of Islander aircraft from piston engine to turbine engine in 1996, and suitable modification to Seaking helicopters to overcome sanctions post Pokhran. NAY also has the has overhauled and repaired, the Sea Harrier aircraft. The Yard has a dedicated high tech test bed facility to test the Sea Harrier engines. The NAY had secured accreditation to ISO 9001:2000 standard in 2000 and Aerospace Certification of AS 9100B standard in 2010.