New Delhi: Reliance Defence, a company promoted by Reliance Infrastructure, announced a strategic partnership Monday with American defence contractor Coastal Mechanics Inc. in an effort to tap into an estimated Rs 20,000 crore market in India for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and upgrade of defence platforms.
According to a statement issued by the company led by Anil Ambani, the agreement will offer comprehensive MRO, upgrade and lifecycle support services for a range of Indian military assets, including more than 100 Jaguar and MiG-29 fighter aircraft, the Apache attack helicopter fleet, L-70 air defence guns, and other legacy systems, requiring long-term sustenance.
Additionally, the two firms will set up a joint venture at MIHAN (Multi-modal International cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur), Maharashtra, serving both Indian and export markets.
“The Indian military’s strategic shift from asset replacement to lifecycle extension presents a high-value, long-duration opportunity,” the company said. The statement added that the partnership would “bring together world-class manufacturing capabilities and global certifications into India’s aerospace ecosystem,” enabling the delivery of performance-based logistics and modernisation solutions across both air and land systems.
Coastal Mechanics is a US Department of Defence-authorised contractor with over four decades of experience in supplying mission-critical components to the US Air Force and US Army.
The collaboration—positioned in the statement as a significant step in furthering the Centre’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’—would not only promote defence production in India but also reduce its reliance on imports.
The statement added that Reliance Defence aimed to become one of India’s top three defence exporters. As earlier reported by ThePrint, Reliance Defence Limited announced last week that it secured an export order worth Rs 600 crore from Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH, a German defence and ammunition company.
India’s Ministry of Defence black-listed Rheinmetall in 2012 after allegations of corruption. The ban was extended by another three years earlier this year, preventing the Indian Army from signing any deals with the company. Incidentally, state-run Munitions India Limited sold nearly 500 tonnes of explosives to the German firm in 2023 and early 2024.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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