New Delhi, Feb 4 (IANS): Aerospace major Boeing has entered into a strategic agreement with Air Works for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of two key defence platforms in India.

The agreement covers the MRO aspects for the P-8I operated by the Indian Navy (IN) and the VIP transport fleet operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF).

"Boeing India's strategic collaboration with Air Works is an important first step under its recently launched initiative, the Boeing India Repair Development and Sustainment (BIRDS) hub, which is an in-country network and alliance of suppliers led by Boeing in India that envisions a competitive MRO ecosystem for engineering, maintenance, skilling, repair and sustainment services of defence and commercial aircraft.

"The hub aims to grow capabilities in India in the areas of heavy maintenance, component repairs, training and skilling of IAF and IN maintainers."

According to the statement, an important aspect of the hub is training programmes to increase skilled manpower by developing sub-tier suppliers and medium, small and micro enterprises to build high quality MRO capabilities in India.