Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is preparing to introduce a robotic drilling cell into its Aircraft Division in Bangalore. The system is scheduled to be operational by late 2027, eighteen months after the order was placed.
This development comes at a critical juncture, with the Indian Air Force holding firm orders for 83 TEJAS MK-1A fighters and an additional 97 contracted, while squadron strength remains stretched.
Each wing set completed faster directly accelerates the induction of Indian-designed fighters into service, making the project a matter of national urgency.
The challenge lies in the sheer scale of manual drilling. A single hole in a TEJAS wing, when drilled by hand, consumes twenty-five to thirty-five minutes.
Each wing pair requires sixteen thousand holes, including attachment and temporary-fastener points. This arithmetic translates into weeks of labour for a single wing set. The difficulty is not due to human error but to the unforgiving mathematics of production.
The wing itself is a layered composite structure. Its outer skins are carbon-fibre composites rated at approximately 1,600 MPa ultimate strength. Beneath these skins lie aluminium-copper alloy and titanium components, including spars, ribs, brackets and pylons.
Each wing demands around 3,200 holes ranging from 5 mm to 12 mm, plus 2,700 anchor-nut rivet holes of 2.5 mm. Precision is paramount, with tolerances of ±0.30 mm and H8/H9 fits required to ensure fasteners seat correctly. Countersinking must leave rivets flush with the surface.
Errors in drilling are costly. Carbon fibre cannot be cooled with liquid coolant, so drilling must be dry. Excessive pressure risks delamination, while metal layers can produce burrs. A single defective hole can compromise fuel integrity or structural strength during high-stress manoeuvres.
HAL’s solution is a fully automated robotic cell capable of clamping, aligning, drilling, countersinking, measuring and validating each hole in one continuous cycle.
The specification is uncompromising: under sixty seconds per hole including countersink, five days maximum per wing side across two shifts, and twenty wing sets annually with expansion capacity.
This initiative is part of a wider automation drive under Chairman and Managing Director Ravi Kota, closely linked to the TEJAS program.
The project is led by ADD Engineering Components (India), the Bangalore arm of Germany’s ADD Engineering GmbH, headed by Girish Linganna.
The consortium spans three nations. Britain’s True Position Robotics contributes automated drilling and inspection systems already proven on Boeing and BAE programs.
Germany’s Robot-Technology GmbH supplies the robotic cell, controls and integration. India’s Ripple Technologies provides tooling and fixtures, while German experts Norbert Kreller and Dr Werner Gryksa bring aerospace experience from NASA and fighter programs.
The robotic system is a six-axis articulated arm resembling a human limb, mounted on a mobile platform. The wing remains stationary while the robot moves, using air bearings for fine positioning before locking onto floor references.
It carries a thirty-station tool changer, cameras, probes and a test-coupon station. Fixtures cradle both wings at their ICY points, the master features around which the airframe is built.
At its working tip, a water-cooled spindle operates from 200 rpm for titanium up to 20,000 rpm for softer materials, delivering at least 10 Nm torque. Dust extraction captures 95 per cent of debris, while chilled air cools the cutting edge. Cameras align drilling coordinates against digital models.
A pressure foot ensures perpendicular drilling, preventing layer separation. Each hole is verified for diameter to ±0.005 mm, countersink depth to ±0.05 mm and trueness across its length.
Results are stored under unique identities, and any deviation halts the process. Cutter wear is monitored continuously, with automatic tool replacement.
Programming is conducted offline from design models, incorporating collision avoidance and escape paths. HAL engineers retain editing capability. The software is designed to accept TEJAS MK-2 and AMCA data, with perpetual licences and twenty years of spares and service.
Design reviews are scheduled within two months, followed by coupon trials, builder’s works inspection and final acceptance on a wing set in Bangalore.
The contract includes two years of warranty, five years of full maintenance, daily specialist presence and a 90 per cent uptime target. The cell is built to withstand two decades of Indian climatic conditions.
The transformation is not only about speed but about quality. Precision becomes inherent to the machine rather than dependent on human steadiness.
Human skill shifts upward into programming, supervision and judgement. The result is more wings, more TEJAS fighters, delivered sooner to the Indian Air Force.
ANI
