The Indian Army’s Fire & Fury Corps has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbornics Defence & Space Pvt Ltd (ADSL), a JCBL Group company, to establish a New Generation Vehicle repair hub and warehouse at Leh. The agreement was formalized on October 16, 2025, at the 14 Corps Zonal Workshop.
Lt Gen Hitesh Bhalla, Corps Commander of 14 Corps, presided over the signing ceremony at Headquarters 14 Corps in Leh, with Brig Nipoon Sood, Brig EME, signing on behalf of the Army. JCBL Group was represented by Director & CEO Mr. Raj Kumar Pandey and COO Col Rajwinder Singh (Retd). Senior officers from divisions in Ladakh attended, along with representatives from TASL, BFL, Polaris, JSW, and MDSL.
The initiative aims to enhance the Army’s logistics readiness by creating a dedicated OEM warehouse and repair facility for New Generation Vehicles within the Army workshop premises. Under the collaboration, JCBL Group will provide defense manufacturing expertise, technical support, training, retro-modification capabilities, and research and development knowledge through the NGV Hub framework.
JCBL Group will maintain ready stocks of fast-moving spare parts for vehicles and equipment supplied to the Indian Army. The company will also supply critical components and war stores through its group companies in India and internationally to the Army’s Ordnance and EME channels.
Lt Gen Bhalla emphasized that the partnership would significantly improve the operational readiness of 14 Corps. He stressed the importance of Army units fully utilizing industry warehouses at forward locations in Ladakh. The Army plans to expand industry warehouse presence to three additional forward locations within the 14 Corps area of responsibility.
Mr. Rishi Aggarwal, Managing Director of JCBL Group, described the collaboration as special, noting the Fire and Fury Corps’ operational commitment. He commended Lt Gen Bhalla’s vision of integrating industry at the field formation level to improve equipment availability and operational readiness.
ADSL specializes in design, manufacturing, servicing, and upgrading of aerospace systems, defense platforms, and armored vehicles.
The company holds multiple certifications including ISO 9001:2015, IATF 16949:2016, and AS 9100D. JCBL Group, founded in 1989, is a $206.02 million conglomerate with presence across mobility, defense and aerospace, railway components, agriculture, finance, and international business sectors.