Indigenous Carbon-Fibre plant all set for commercial production

Hyderabad, Nov 24 (UNI) The indigenous Carbon-Fibre plant developed by the National Aeronautical Laboratory in collaboration with the Aeronautical Development Agency is all set to start commercial production next year, a senior NAL official said today.

Under the Rs 25-crore ADA-Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)-funded project, initial batches of Carbon-Fibre have already been produced for use in the prestigious Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Integrated Missile Development Programme (IMDP) and in Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Programmes, NAL Director A R Upadhya told reporters here.

After certification by an independent accreditation agency by March 2007, commercial production would be started in the private sector, the director, who was here in connection with the National Conference on composites said.

NAL was holding talks with four private players for signing an MoU to meet NAL's strategic needs for the LCA project, advanced systems laboratory for its missiles and the Vikram Sarabhai Space Research Centre (VSSRC) at a time when imports were practically impossible with aerospace majors blocking the world's composite material production for next three to four years, he added.

The 20 tonne per annum plant would be upscaled during the commercial phase, Mr Upadhya said.

Taking a conscious decision to reduce the weight of aircraft, NAL would use composite material in the SARAS Aircraft. As much as 40 per cent of the weight of the LCA had been reduced with the use of composite material, he added.

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