The Technology Development Fund of DRDO has handed over to the Indian Navy a project to use AI in Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) to increase the operational availability of MiG-29K fighters.

The project, which is being executed by Smart Machines, Hyderabad, is aimed at achieving a high level of serviceability and combat readiness of the platform at all times through the use of trending and predictive maintenance. The results obtained will be used by the Indian Navy for analysis and decision-making on engine and airframe maintenance issues, according to a press release shared by the PIB.

Preliminary trials and validation of the project have been successfully completed. The project was formally handed over to the Indian Navy as part of the ‘Launch of New Technology’ event by DRDO on Monday as part of Aero India 2023.

During the MANTHAN event, the Indian Army released a ‘Compendium of 110 Problem Statements’ for the indigenous defence research, design, development and manufacturing ecosystem.

The statements highlight the Indian Army’s technological challenges and requirements in various areas ranging from armour, surveillance and fire control systems to niche domains such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, metaverse, robotics, quantum technology, cyber, ammunition and more. Further, the problem statements involve the induction of new technologies, upgrade of existing systems, and indigenisation of critical components.