In what could be viewed as a significant development for Indian AirForce, SU-30 MKI pilot Squadron Leader SS Bhatkare has created a cutting-edge AI solution in order to enhance the safety of the aircraft through AI inspection.
The AI technology would be able to identify concerning areas of the aircraft upon investigation which may hamper its safety. Squadron leader Bhatkare opined that at times the fatigue of the pilot may not enable him to inspect aircraft meticulously before use. Also, human errors are also inevitable at times.
Just like with a passenger craft, military aircrafts require inspection for preflight, flight operation and also for post-flight.
The Ministry of Defence released a video on Twitter announcing the AI solution by Squadron leader SS Bhatkare.
“I have created an innovation for detecting Aircraft panels, gauges and covers. One of the most important aspect is that a thorough inspection of the aircraft is being carried out. A pilot walks around the aircraft and looks around for any damage that is available. And if a pilot is tired or because of human oversights, things can happen that they might miss such thing out. So starting, camera system will be developed which will basically scan the entire surface of the aircraft and we will be able to reduce the accidents which happen because of human errors or plan that has been missed out, that can be reduced to exactly zero. And we will have an accident free aviation.
“So the way forward is every opportunity is a disguise and you can utlized that to do something big.” the squadron leader said in the video.
Other AI Technology For Enhancing Safety of Military Aircraft
The IAF pilot’s AI solution will help the Indian defence system. However, it is not clear yet whether the AI tech has been implemented in the SOPs of Aircraft inspection and maintenance or not.
This is not the first time an AI-embedded solution is going to be deployed for Aircraft inspection. The Indian Air Force announced in April 2024 that it would be using AI enabled drone for engine inspection that would replace the conventional time-consuming process.
Airbus in 2019 announced that it will utilize the combination of drones, Artificial Intelligence and Augmented reality that will massively aid in the Aircraft inspection and maintenance for “Reducing inspection time and creating a more robust maintenance, repair and overhaul process”
The AI comes handy in detecting any potential defects on the aircraft.
While safety is the driving concern for the development of such AI technology, plenty of hours would also be saved which gets consumed in inspection. An Aircraft inspection may take few weeks which the drone embedded with ultra high-definition camera and AI would do in a couple of hours, with greater accuracy.
