Marking fifty years of keeping the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) critical radar and communication networks operational, the 13 Base Repair Depot (BRD) celebrated its Golden Jubilee on Sunday with a high-level seminar at the Manekshaw Centre.
Themed “Air Defence 2040: Sensors, Networks & Sovereign Sustainment,” the event brought together senior military commanders, veterans, scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), academic researchers, and domestic defence industry leaders to chart the future of India’s aerial shield.
Presiding over the seminar, Air Marshal Yalla Umesh, VSM, PhD, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) of the Maintenance Command, underscored that advanced military hardware is only as effective as its operational availability on the ground.
“Sustainment must be integral to equipment design and induction,” Air Marshal Umesh stated, emphasising that true self-reliance—or sovereign sustainment—requires the domestic capability to diagnose, repair, and restore complex systems entirely within India. He urged private and public industry partners to embed indigenous testing and life-cycle support into every piece of equipment built for the armed forces.
Five Decades of Technical Backbone
Tracing its roots back to the Radar and Communication Project Office, 13 BRD was formally established in 1976. Over the last half-century, the depot has served as a silent cornerstone of the IAF’s maintenance ecosystem, handling the overhaul and life-cycle support of vital air defence infrastructure. During his welcome address, the Air Officer Commanding of the Depot paid tribute to the generations of technicians and veterans who built the unit’s legacy, while stressing the urgent need to upgrade domestic engineering to meet modern aerial threats.
Quantum Sensing and Green Hydrogen
Beyond looking back at its 50-year history, the seminar focused heavily on next-generation warfare and sustainability. Expert panels deliberated on emerging technologies set to reshape aerial security by 2040, including quantum sensing, radar modernisation, and network-centric air defence.
A major highlight of the event was a milestone in sustainable military operations: the successful demonstration of hydrogen fuel cell technology to power IAF radars. Developed in collaboration with the National Green Hydrogen Mission and NTPC, the clean-energy initiative aims to give air defence units greater energy autonomy and operational resilience, particularly in remote and challenging terrains where conventional fuel supply lines are vulnerable.