New Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) The Indian Army has established two MRO hubs in the country and plans to carry out 50-60 activities, including those related to training, at the facilities, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Aero MRO conference in the national capital, Lt General Ajay Kumar Suri, Director General Army Aviation in the Indian Army, also said in the last 10 years, the picture of MRO has changed with more number of players.

MRO refers to Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) in relation to aviation.

'We have established two MRO hubs, one in the north and one in the east. We are planning to conduct 50-60 activities at these MRO hubs,' he said.

Talking about MRO works, Suri said, 'We contact HAL, they in turn go to the private players and then it comes back to us. The basic disadvantage in that is the time penalty. I'm not talking about the cost factor at all.' He also talked about helicopters in the country.

'We have about 400 helicopters and we are the largest operator of helicopters in the country today. The US has got 5,500. China has got 2,000, Brazil has got 2,000. In our country, in the civil space, we have 233-odd helicopters. In a city like Sao Paulo in Brazil, they are operating with 600 helicopters so that gives you a sense of the fleet size in the world,' he added. PTI SGC RAM TRB