MRF to Produce Fighter Aircraft Tyres?

This year Indian manufacturer MRF established a niche in the military aviation tyre segment through an arrangement to supply original equipment tyres to Hindustan Aeronautical’s Chetak range of helicopters. The first batch of three to four hundred tyres has already been produce and another order is expected to be ready by January 2010. Furthermore, it appears likely that the tyre maker will extend its military supply presence even further in the near future.

“We have now become a supplier of tyres for defence helicopters. We are in the process of developing tyres for fighter aircraft of Indian defence,” a company official was quoted in the Financial Chronicle as saying. No further information was given, however. The official also declined to disclose how much the Chetak helicopter tyre deal is worth to MRF: “Value is not very important in this case. What is important is the indigenous technology. We have developed a product which satisfies the stringent norms of defence establishments.”