# Maintenance Command

Maintenance Command is a command of the Indian Air Force. It was raised as Maintenance Group at Chakeri in Kanpur in 1950. In 1955, it was designated as Maintenance Command. Its current headquarters is located at Vayusena Nagar in Nagpur (Maharashtra); it handles the repair, overhaul and maintenance of all aircraft, helicopters and other equipment. MC has about nine Base Repair Depots taking care of the overhaul and maintenance of various types of aircraft.

## History

The Maintenance Command was established on 26 January 1955. Group Captain Harjinder Singh was the first Commanding Officer (CO). Harjinder Singh, a legendary engineering officer with many firsts to his credit was at the helm of the command until his retirement in 1963. The appointment of the CO was upgraded to Air Officer Commanding (AOC) in 1958 when Singh was promoted to Air Commodore. It was further upgraded to Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) when he was promoted to the rank of Air Vice Marshal. In 1971, the appointment of AOC-in-C was upgraded to the three-star rank of Air Marshal.

## Organisation

The command has several types of Base Repair Depots (BRD) (for overhaul, maintenance) and Equipment Depots (ED) (storage of spares, equipment, sub-systems). They are categorised by their specialisation and functions. These units are commanded by an officer of rank Air Commodre.
List of Base Repair Depots (BRD) :
| Unit | Location | Function |
| 1 Base Repair Depot (Aircraft) | Kanpur | An-32 overhaul |
| 3 Base Repair Depot (Aircraft & Engine) | Chandigarh | Mi-17, Mi-26, Mi-35 overhaul |
| 4 Base Repair Depot (Engine) | Kanpur | R 29 engine (MiG-23/27) + M53 engine (Mirage 2000) |
| 5 Base Repair Depot (Aircraft) | Sulur | HS 748, Trainer aircraft overhaul |
| 7 Base Repair Depot (Systems) | Tughlakabad | Missiles, Radars, etc. |
| 8 Base Repair Depot (Systems) | Avadi | |
| 9 Base Repair Depot (Systems) | Pune | |
| 11 Base Repair Depot (Aircraft) | Ojhar | MiG-23, MiG-29 overhaul |
| 12 Base Repair Depot (Systems) | Nafdarjung | Parachute and safety system |
| 13 Base Repair Depot (Systems) | Palam | |
| 14 Base Repair Depot (Systems) | Borjhar | Radar maintenance |
| 15 Base Repair Depot (Systems) | Vadsar | Communication equipment |
| 16 Base Repair Depot (Systems) | Palam | Parachute and safety system |
List of Equipment Depots (ED) :
| Unit | Location | Function |
| 23 Equipment Depot | Avadi | |
| 24 Equipment Depot | Manauri | Spare storage of Jaguar, Avro, C-295 and Dornier aircraft; Chetak, Cheetah and Dhruv helicopters and RPA |
| 25 Equipment Depot | Devlali | Spare storage of MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27 and Su-30MKI |
| 26 Equipment Depot | Bangalore | Rotables of Jaguar, Cheetah, Chetak, Avro, Kiran; line spares of Jaguar and engines |
| 27 Equipment Depot | Tughlakabad | |
| 28 Equipment Depot | Amli | Armament and ammunition |
| 29 Equipment Depot | Kanpur | Supplies parts to 1 and 4 BRD |
| 41 (Mini) Equipment Depot | Bidar | Spares of MiG-25 |
| 42 (Mini) Equipment Depot | Gwalior | Provides support to 40 Wing IAF, Maharajpur AFS |
| 43 (Mini) Equipment Depot | Hakimpet | |
| 44 (Mini) Equipment Depot | Dundingal | |
| 45 (Mini) Equipment Depot | Agra | Spares support for Ilyushin Il-76 and Ilyushin Il-78MKI based in Agra AFS. |
| 49 (Mini) Equipment Depot | N/A | |
There are other units which are based under Maintenance Command
* Air Force Liaison Establishments (functions as an interface between IAF and HAL)
* 31 Movement Control Unit (MCU) at Palam AFS [previously Passenger and Freight (P&F) Forwarding Section]
* 32 Movement Control Unit (MCU) at Terminal 1 Mumbai Airport [previously Air Freight & Passenger (Mov) Unit]
* 33 Movement Control Unit (MCU) at Guwahati Airport