Indian Air Force Turns to 3D Printing for Rubber Aircraft Parts

Printing Parts That Used to Take Months

The Indian Air Force is 3D printing rubber aircraft components in-house. The move is a direct response to delays in spare parts from Russia, which supplies the bulk of India's fighter and helicopter fleet.

Base Repair Depots across the force now use additive manufacturing to produce seals, gaskets, brackets, ducts, and rubberised fabric linings. These small parts may seem minor, but when a fighter jet or transport aircraft is grounded waiting for a single seal, the cost adds up quickly.

From Months to Days

Traditional rubber manufacturing relies on injection molding or compression molding. Each part needs a custom mold, which is expensive and takes months to produce, especially when the original manufacturer is overseas. The IAF's 3D printing approach skips the mold entirely. Technicians print parts directly from digital files using flexible thermoplastic elastomers and soft photopolymer resins.

The result is a lead time measured in days instead of months. Parts undergo testing for flexibility, sealing performance, and durability before they ever touch an aircraft.

A Broader Self-Reliance Push

This effort is part of a larger indigenization drive documented in the IAF's Sankalp-2026 compendium. The force is also substituting imported Russian lubricants, hydraulic fluids, and greases with domestic alternatives. Meanwhile, a partnership with IIT-Bombay is building an AI model that acts as a health index for Sukhoi-30MKI engines, predicting failures before they happen.

The IAF's Russian-origin fleet includes 270 Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, 70 MiG-29s, and numerous Mi-17 helicopters. As Moscow's defense industrial base strains under the weight of the Ukraine conflict, New Delhi is finding that 3D printing offers something the old supply chain cannot: speed and independence.