DIRECTORATE
GENERAL OF AERONAUTICAL
QUALITY
ASSURANCE
(MINISTRY
OF DEFENCE)
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Directorate General of Aeronautical
Assurance (DGAQA) was established in 1954 under the Ministry of Defence, as Directorate
of Technical Development & Production (Air) [ DTD&P(Air) ] which was
subsequently renamed as DGAQA in 1996. The role envisaged for the organization
initially included Research and Development (R&D) activities and inspection
in the field of military aircraft and other aeronautical stores. In the initial
stages, it included R&D organisations such as Aeronautical Development
Establishment (ADE) and Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE). In the subsequent organisational changes, it
continued as a QA organization for military aviation with additional duties
such as indigenisation, vendor development, and related activities. Over the
years, the organization has acquired necessary strength and has grown into an
active QA regulatory authority, working in tandem with counterparts in the
field of military aircraft and related stores.
2.0 Role
of DGAQA
2.1 DGAQA is the regulatory authority of the
Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India, for Quality Assurance and final acceptance
of military aircraft/ aero engine / air armament / unmanned aerial vehicle/
aero equipment, radar and telecommunication, ground support equipment, fuel oil
lubricants during design/ development/ production/ overhaul/ repair/
modification. DGAQA also has an
important role in providing technical consultation to Ministry of Defence,
Service HQrs, Defence public sector undertakings (PSUs) and trade sources
during various stages of procurement and manufacture of defence aero stores.
2.2 DGAQA
follows a supervisory Quality Assurance System i.e. Approved
Firm’s Inspection Organisation (AFIO)
system for effective monitoring of Quality Control and final clearance in
respect of aircraft, aero engine and rotables during development, production,
repair and overhaul at Defence PSUs for supply to the Armed Forces.
2.3 DGAQA
also has an inspection role in respect of air armament stores produced at
different Ordnance Factories.
2.4 Direct
inspection is undertaken in respect of non-defence PSUs and private firms
involved in manufacture and supply of ground support equipment for the
Services.
3.0 Functions
of DGAQA
3.1 Various
functions of the DGAQA Organisation are as under:
a)
Quality Assurance during design, development, production, overhaul and repair
of military aircraft, its accessories and other aeronautical stores including
brake and pilot parachutes, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), air armament,
and allied ground support equipment for military aircraft. This includes modifications of aircraft
spares/ components.
b)
Approval of Firm’s Inspection Organisation and renewal thereafter.
c)
Technical association with DRDO, PSUs and other agencies during the
process of development, type approval and Life Extension studies of aircraft
and accessories.
d)
Participation in activities related to indigenous development of
aeronautical stores through trade sources.
e)
Association with accidents/ defect investigation of military aircraft/
aeronautical stores for establishing the cause thereof and to suggest remedial measures.
f)
Participation in standardisation activities related to preparation of
joint services specifications and national standards. DGAQA is also involved in codification of
defence aeronautical equipment/ stores used by Defence Services.
g)
Member of Inter-Services equipment policy committee and joint services
committee on Qualitative Requirements for Aero Stores.
h)
Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP) functions in respect of
aero stores like air armament stores, brake parachutes, pilot parachutes and
aircraft arrester barriers.
i)
Inspection Authority for aeronautical stores, ground support equipment
and aero medical equipment for Indian Air Force, Army and Navy.
j)
Involvement in technical evaluation committee, field trials and
commercial negotiation committee during procurement of aircraft / UAV and
related systems from foreign and indigenous sources.
k)
In addition to the above activities, DGAQA is the nodal agency for
Missile systems quality assurance agency (MSQAA) and ground systems to ensure
quality and reliability of indigenous missiles and ground systems during
development and production under the integrated guided missiles development
programme (IGMDP) and non-IGMDP Projects.
4.0 Organisational
Structure
4.1 The
DGAQA organisation functions from its Headquarter at New Delhi and a network of
around 40 field establishments/ detachments covering a large number of
work centers spread across India. Director General, AQA is head of the
organisation who is assisted by three Deputy Director Generals (DDGs) namely
DDG(HQrs), DDG(South Zone) and DDG (North & Central Zone) located at Delhi, Bangalore and Lucknow respectively.
4.2 DGAQA
HQrs at New Delhi
functions through the following Technical specialists sections, each headed by
an officer of the level of Director/ Joint Director:
-
Aircraft and aero medical.
-
Power plant, fuel, oil & lubricants.
-
Aviation electronics.
-
Electrical & instrumentation.
-
Armament.
-
Ground support equipment.
-
Technical coordination, standardisation and codification.
-
Missile systems quality assurance agency (MSQAA).
4.3 DGAQA has been nominated as the Nodal Agency for Missile
System Quality Assurance (MSQAA) set up in 1991 with the personnel drawn from
all the three QA organisations under ministry of Defence i.e. DGAQA,
Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA), Directorate General of Naval
Armament Inspection (DGNAI), for providing Quality Assurance coverage during
development and production of indigenous missiles.
5.0 Current Major Projects Under DGAQA’s
QA coverage
5.1 Aeronautics:
Light combat aircraft (LCA),
Advanced light helicopter (ALH), Light combat vehicle (LCV), Unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV), Intermediate jet trainer (IJT), Hindustan piston trainer (HPT),
MIG-21, Airborne early warning & control (AEW&C), Arrester barrier,
Electronic warfare & communication, MIG-27 upgrade, SU-30 MKI, MIG-21
BISON, Jaguar, Mirage-2000, Hawk, Kiran MK-I & II, Dornier-228, Parachutes
(both pilot and brake), Kaveri engine and Airborne batteries.
5.2 Air
Armament:
68 MM Rocket, Cartridges Seat
Ejection, 68 MM
Rocket-Pods, 1000 LB
HE Bombs, 100/120 KG Bombs and 250
KG Bombs
5.3 Missiles:
Prithvi, Agni, Brahmos, Akash, Nag(ATM), Trishul and related ground
systems.
6.0 Field Establishments: With the bulk of aeronautical development
and production activities being carried out in various public sector
undertakings such as Hindustan aeronautics
ltd., (HAL), Bharat electronics ltd., (BEL), Mishra dhatu nigam ltd.,
(MIDHANI), and various ordnance factories; field units of DGAQA have been
located in the premises of these organizations. DGAQA works in tandem with
other organizations of military aviation like DRDO labs and CEMILAC. DGAQA also
has an exclusive unit based at Bangalore namely Aviation electronics inspection
specification documentation authority (ALISDA) which also caters to the need of
QA coverage for electronic/ electrical systems being developed through DRDO
labs, PSUs and private sector.
6.1 DGAQA has Chief Resident
Inspector (CRI) organizations at different locations in the country. In
addition, it has Air Armament Inspection Wing at Khamaria (Jabalpur) and number of its detachments
spread over in different ordnance factories. The major activities of key
establishments at the below locations are as follows:
6.2 At Bangalore, Quality Assurance
coverage is provided during production/ overhaul of Hawk, Mirage,
Jaguar, HJT-36 and IJT aircraft. Quality Assurance coverage is also
provided during indigenous development projects like Light combat aircraft
(LCA) at Aeronautical development agency (ADA), Advanced light helicopter (ALH)
at HAL (Helicopter) factory, and Unmanned air vehicle (UAV) & Pilot-less
target aircraft (PTA) at Aeronautical development establishment (ADE)
Bangalore. QA coverage is also provided during overhaul of accessories (Electrical, Hydraulic,
Fuel, Instrument, Radio, Oxygen, Landing Gears, Wheels and Brakes, Air
Pressurisation, Batteries etc) in respect of various aircraft such as
Mirage-2000, Jaguar, Kiran, AVRO, HPT-32, Canberra,
Cheetah/ Chetak Helicopter, LCA etc. CRI establishment at Barrackpore (under CRI,
Helicopter) deals with quality assurance of Cheetah/ Chetak helicopters during
overhaul.
6.3 At Nasik, Quality Assurance coverage is provided during manufacture and overhaul
activities of SU-30 aircraft under license from Russia. Overhaul activities of
MIG-21 & MIG-27 series aircraft are undertaken after completion of
manufacturing projects. Additionally, upgradation of MIG-21 BIS was taken up
with the help of Russians. Upgradation of MIG-27 aircraft has also started
recently.
6.4 At Kanpur, Quality Assurance
coverage during production/ overhaul of AVRO, HPT-32 and Dornier Aircraft is
provided. Additionally, quality assurance coverage at Ordnance parachute
factory is also provided for aircraft and pilot parachutes.
6.5 At Koraput, CRI establishment provides
Quality Assurance coverage during indigenous development/ production/ overhaul
of aircraft engines. Quality Assurance coverage is provided for aero engines during
overhauling of R-11and R-25 for MIG -21, R-29b for MIG -23/ MIG -27 aircraft
and RD-33 for MIG-29 aircraft. QA coverage is also provided for aero engines
during the manufacturing of R25UL and AL-31FP for SU-30 MK-1aircraft. In
addition to the previously existing project, license manufacture of AL31FP aero
engines for SU-30 MK-1aircraft and Blade manufacturing unit (BMU) for AN-32
transport aircraft and MI-8and MI-17 helicopter are also being undertaken.
6.6 At Korwa, Hyderabad and Ghaziabad, Quality Assurance coverage
is provided during manufacture/ overhaul/ upgradation of Aviation
electronics systems and accessories such as Radars, Navigation Systems, Communication
sets for
Aircraft, Electronic jamming systems, armament control systems, Auto
pilot systems, Nav attack systems etc,.
6.7 At Lucknow, CRI establishment provides quality assurance coverage to the accessories being
manufactured, repaired and overhauled by HAL(ADL), which includes
accident/defect investigation of military aircraft accessories, life extension,
production permits, approval of production acceptance test schedules pertaining
to aircraft namely MiG variants, Mirage-2000, Jaguar, Kiran, HPT-32, AVRO,
Chetak, Cheetah etc. In addition, this establishment is also involved
in new projects related to production of accessories with advanced technology
for Su-30, LCA, ALH and IJT.
6.8 At MIDHANI,
CRI
establishment provides
quality assurance coverage in respect of various aeronautical material,
forgings, castings, aircraft component parts, assemblies and heat exchangers at
Mishra dhatu nigam (MIDHANI), Aeronautical materials test laboratory (AMTL),
Defence metallurgical research laboratory (DMRL) and Bharat heavy plates &
vessels (BHPV), Vizag.
6.9 At Pune, our establishments provide quality assurance coverage
for various air armament store like Fuzes, Power cartridges, Detonators, Bombs,
Signal cartridges etc,. QA coverage is also provided to the armament stores
produced for the prestigious projects viz. Integrated guided missiles &
development programme (IGMDP), Pilotless target aircraft (Lakshya) and Canopy
severance system (CSS) for LCA. In addition to the above, QA coverage is
provided for non armament stores like Diesel engines flow meters and Generator
set for various defence applications.
6.10 At OCRI(GW), Hyderabad, Quality Assurance coverage during design/
development/ production of systems for various projects like ASTRA missile, AEW
& C, Air launched missiles, Lakshya tow targets and their sub-systems is
provided. In addition, this
establishment is also involved in developmental activities of various LCA sub
systems.
6.11 Air
armament inspection wing (AAIW), Khamaria has eight detachments co-located at
ordinance factories at Khamaria, Ambajhari, Bhandara,
Chanda, Jabalpur, Itarsi, Cossipore, and
Muradnagar which deal with quality assurance of air armament. These detachments are
under direct technical and administrative control of AAIW Khamaria. These
establishments are involved in Proof testing, Defect investigations, Life
Extension, Product improvement and AHSP functions of various air armament stores.
6.12 At Dehradun, CRI establishment is
primarily responsible for QA coverage of airfield lighting equipment, cables,
batteries and lamps for use in Indian Air Force. This office has also been entrusted with the
responsibility of providing Quality Assurance support to airfield lighting
stores manufactured at ordnance factory, Dehradun and ordnance cable factory, Chandigarh.
6.13 At MSQAA, Hyderabad, QA coverage during
development and production of Agni, Akash, Nag, Brahmos, Prithvi, Long Rang SAM,
Astra missile system and other missile projects of DRDO is provided. MSQAA is
also involved during various phases like development trials, qualification/
environmental trials and user trials of these systems. Brahmos missile hardware
items which have been indigenously developed are under manufacture at various
private industries. The inspection and
QA coverage for such large number of missile systems at Defence PSUs viz BDL,
HAL, BEL, ECIL, BEML, etc. along with items produced at private firms is
managed by the MSQAA.
7.0 Manpower
7.1 The
technical manpower in DGAQA comes from a diverse spectrum of disciplines like
Aeronautical, Mechanical, Electronics, Electrical, Chemical and Computer
engineering.
7.2 The present authorisation of manpower is:
Civilians:
Group A officers : 262
Group
B officers : 307
Group C : 612
Group D : 115
Total
(Civilians ) : 1296
Services:
Officers : 24
Others
: 23
8.0 Details of CPIO’s and Appellate Authority in
DGAQA for the purpose of RTI Act 2005
|
Sr.No
|
Name and Designation
|
Address
|
Telephone No.
|
|
1
|
Sh. Pulak Sengupta
Director General, AQA
(Appellate Authority)
|
Directorate General
of Aeronautical Quality Assurance,
Ministry of Defence, Room
No.90, ’H’Block, New Delhi – 110011
|
011-23011783
|
|
2
|
Sh. P.C. Kothandaraman
Dy. Director General (HQ)
CPIO
(HQrs)
|
Directorate General
of Aeronautical Quality
Assurance,
Ministry of Defence, Room
No.102,’H’Block, New Delhi – 110011
|
011-23017362
|
9.0
DGAQA Vigilance Officer:
Sh. V.K. Sachdev, Director,
Room No. 89, H- Block,
Min. of Defence, New Delhi - 11.
Tel.: 2301
2542
10.0
DGAQA Grievances Officer:
Dr. Sudhir Naib, Director,
Room No. 89 A, H- Block,
Min. of Defence, New Delhi - 11.
Tel.: 2301
4960
