Aerospace & defence · Market entry
Make the entry decision before committing capital.
Assess your proposed supply-chain role, capability gaps, approval pathway and commercial exposure. Use the evidence to shape a staged Go / No-Go decision.
Start with a free 15-minute discussion. Scope and fees follow an assessment.
The 30–36 month cash-risk window that nobody puts on the brochure.
Land, building, machines and certification all have to be paid for well before the first OEM purchase order actually clears payment terms. It is this gap where new entrants typically run out of cash, not at the audit stage.
What the headline says, and what an operator actually faces on the ground.
"India's A&D sector is a $1B+ opportunity - the market is wide open for new entrants."
That number is, for the most part, already locked into Tier-1 contracts that have been awarded. New entrants are essentially competing for residual scope and space-startup demand, a smaller, harder-won pool.
"Grants like iDEX and ADITI de-risk your entry."
They offset roughly 10% of CapEx as non-dilutive funding, which is helpful, no doubt. But the remaining 90% and the entire 30–36 month cash gap are still yours to carry.
"AS9100D certification opens the door to OEM business."
Certification is a required prerequisite, not a guarantee of the order itself. Nadcap special processes, AS9102 First Article Inspection (FAI) discipline and demonstrated demand still determine whether the actual purchase order comes through.
"CNC machining capacity is the fastest way into the supply chain."
In reality, it is the most crowded and highest-CapEx entry point: what we call the Build-to-Print trap. Lower-CapEx channels usually reach revenue faster.
Where to play, and what to avoid.
The channel decision matters even more than the certification decision. Get this wrong, and the certificate will simply delay the loss rather than prevent it.
EWIS wiring harnesses - IPC-A-620
Higher labour content, lower machine CapEx, and steady OEM and MRO demand. A realistic first foothold for an MSME-sized balance sheet.
AS9120-certified distribution
Here you trade parts you don't manufacture yourself. Traceability and chain-of-custody discipline substitute for heavy CapEx, so revenue can start sooner.
Space-startup demand as a stepping stone
Skyroot, Agnikul and similar players move faster than the legacy primes and are less locked-in. A credible way to build heritage before chasing Tier-1 OEM scope.
Standalone 3-axis CNC machining
Heavy CapEx, low margin, and already oversupplied across India's A&D hubs. This is the most common way new entrants exhaust their CapEx before Month 18.
Single-customer dependency
If one OEM relationship carries 100% of your revenue, then one program delay carries 100% of your cash-flow risk. We stress-test this explicitly.
Factory sized to the RFQ, not the cash-flow timeline
Capacity commitments made against a hoped-for order book, before demand has been validated or the cash-risk window has actually been modelled.
Five pillars, leading to one Go/No-Go decision.
Stage 1 is commissioned only after the Stage 0 diagnostic. It concludes at a documented Go/No-Go decision point, rather than just a strategy deck.
36-Month Cash-Flow Stress Test
A line-item CapEx and operating cash-flow model across the full 30–36 month window, stress-tested against various payment-term and delay scenarios.
Demand Validation
Direct procurement interviews with Tier-1 and space-startup buyers, to test whether the demand you are planning against actually exists on the ground.
Talent & Ecosystem Mapping
Mapping specialised aerospace and defence talent availability, along with the Nadcap special-process ecosystem, in your target location.
Distressed AS9100D M&A Pipeline
Screening distressed, already-certified AS9100D targets across Bengaluru, Hosur and Hyderabad. This buys qualification time instead of building it up from zero.
Legal & Balance Sheet Ring-Fencing
Structuring the A&D entity so that parent-company legal and balance-sheet exposure is properly ring-fenced from this specific bet.
Go / No-Go
Stage 1 closes with an explicit, documented Go/No-Go recommendation, before you commit CapEx, not after it.
Grants do reduce risk. They are not a revenue floor, and should not be treated as one.
₹1.5 Cr – ₹10 Cr
Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) is a non-dilutive CapEx offset for qualifying defence-innovation projects. We model this as a partial offset in the cash-flow stress test, and never as operating revenue.
Up to ₹25 Cr
Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX (ADITI) is larger-ticket non-dilutive funding for deep-tech defence capability. The same rule applies here too: it reduces the CapEx you must fund yourself, but it does not remove the 30-36 month cash gap.
What actually stands between you and an OEM purchase order.
We don't sell strategy slides -
rather, we audit execution risk before you commit capital.
Former Country Quality Leader, Boeing India (AS9100D scope: 9 sites, 5,000+ engineers, one of the largest Boeing operations outside the continental US). AS9100D Management Representative and IAQG/Probitas-authenticated Lead Auditor.
Boeing · Schneider Electric · ABB · safety-critical field engineering
Former Country Quality Leader · AS9100D Management Representative
AS9100D certification scope, one of the largest Boeing operations outside the continental US
Authenticated AS9100D aerospace auditor
The approvals between a certificate and a defence order.
Market entry into Indian aerospace and defence runs through a set of Government authorities that do not issue certificates and do not accept them as a substitute for their own assessment. Plan for these from the first week, in this order.
| Authority | What it covers | Who needs it | Where AS91XX fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Defence - DAP 2020, offsets and industrial licensing | Procurement framework. The Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 sets the procurement categories (Buy Indian-IDDM and others) and indigenous-content rules; the offset policy channels foreign OEM obligations to Indian partners; certain defence manufacturing needs an industrial licence issued through DPIIT. iDEX supports start-ups and MSMEs with defence challenges. | New entrants deciding which route into the Indian defence supply chain is realistic for their capability and balance sheet. | None of these are quality approvals, but each one presumes you can pass the DGAQA, CEMILAC or DPSU assessment that follows. Sequence the quality system before the licence and the bid, not after. |
| DGAQA (Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance, Department of Defence Production, MoD) | Government quality assurance and final acceptance of military aircraft, UAVs, aero-engines, airborne systems, avionics, armaments and consumables across design, production, repair, overhaul and life extension. DGAQA also approves firms and their quality management systems, and carries out capacity assessment and registration of firms and test laboratories. | Any supplier whose product is accepted by a Government QA representative: direct MoD suppliers, DPSU sub-tiers, repair and overhaul shops on military stores, test laboratories. | DGAQA registration is a capacity and QMS assessment followed by product acceptance on the floor. An AS9100D or AS9110C system gives the evidence structure; what DGAQA tests is whether the inspection, traceability and non-conformance records hold up at acceptance. |
| CEMILAC (Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification, DRDO) | Military airworthiness. Type certification and design evaluation of military aircraft, aero-engines, airborne stores, software and electronic hardware under the MoD document DDPMAS, delivered through its Regional Centres for Military Airworthiness (RCMAs). Type approval carries the authority to produce the item under RCMA supervision. | Firms that design, develop, modify or produce airborne items for the Indian Air Force, Navy, Army aviation, DRDO programmes or the DPSUs. | The RCMA samples a working configuration-control, traceability and qualification record. AS9100D, with DO-178C / DO-254 evidence for software and electronics, is what that record is usually built on, but the certificate alone is not the approval. |
| DPSU and DRDO vendor registration (HAL, BEL, BDL, DRDO laboratories) | Each Defence Public Sector Undertaking and DRDO laboratory runs its own vendor registration and approval, with capacity assessment, QMS review and, for airborne items, the relevant DGAQA or CEMILAC status. | Firms seeking sub-tier work on Indian military platforms and programmes. | AS9100D is commonly listed as an entry criterion, and the registration audit goes further than the certificate: capacity, special processes, calibration, sub-tier control and records are checked on site. |
| MoCA, DGCA and QCI - Drone Rules 2021 | Unmanned aircraft. A drone model needs a Type Certificate before it can be manufactured, imported or operated in India. The prototype is tested by a certification body approved by the Quality Council of India (currently TQ Cert, UL India and Bureau Veritas); DGCA issues the certificate. The rules allow 60 days for the certification body and 15 days for DGCA once the file is complete. | Drone and UAS OEMs, and the parts, motors, batteries, airframe and software suppliers feeding them. | The Type Certificate certifies the design. Repeatable production, configuration control and traceability are what keep an OEM's certificate valid and what its suppliers are audited for. AS9100D-style process ownership is the shortest route to that. |
| NABL accreditation (ISO/IEC 17025) for test laboratories | Accreditation of testing and calibration laboratories by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories. DGAQA separately approves test laboratories for military stores. | In-house and third-party laboratories supporting material testing, NDT, calibration and environmental tests. | Aerospace customers expect calibration and test results to be traceable to an accredited laboratory. AS9100D clause 7.1.5 is where that traceability is audited. |
Questions we're asked first.
Why not just start manufacturing and chase RFQs?
Because the RFQ is usually the second decision, rather than the first. The first decision is whether your CapEx can survive the 30–36 month gap between committing capital and receiving your first positive OEM cash flow. Most new entrants end up sizing the factory before they size that gap.
The government says this is a $1B+ opportunity. Is that wrong?
The headline number is real, but it is, for the most part, locked into existing Tier-1 contracts already awarded to incumbents. A new entrant is not really competing for that number. You are competing for the residual scope that OEMs push down the chain, and for space-startup demand (Skyroot, Agnikul and similar) as a faster route into the ecosystem.
Isn't CNC machining the obvious way in?
It is the most crowded, highest-CapEx, lowest-margin way in: what we call the "Build-to-Print" trap. Standalone 3-axis CNC capacity is already oversupplied across India's A&D hubs. EWIS wiring harnesses under IPC-A-620 and AS9120-certified distribution typically offer a faster, lower-CapEx path to first revenue.
What do iDEX and ADITI grants actually cover?
iDEX (₹1.5 Cr–₹10 Cr) and ADITI (up to ₹25 Cr) are non-dilutive CapEx offsets, typically covering only a fraction of the total project cost. They reduce the capital you put at risk, rather than acting as an operating revenue floor, and should not be modelled as one.
Do you get us AS9100D or Nadcap certified?
Not at Stage 1. Stage 1 is essentially a diagnostic: it tells you whether entry is viable before you spend money on certification. If the answer is Go, then AS9100D readiness, AS9102 FAI and Nadcap preparation are exactly what Suriyavaan's certification advisory practice takes up next.
What happens at the Stage-1 Go/No-Go gate if the answer is No-Go?
You still keep the cash-flow model, the demand-validation findings and the channel recommendation, and you have avoided committing CapEx to a position that would not have held up. A documented No-Go before spend is a far better outcome than an undocumented one after it.
Tell us where you are, and we will tell you what Stage 0 should focus on.
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