Mumbai: If you think aviation is just about jets and pilots, you’ve clearly never met Aman Johri – The Maverick. This young CEO isn’t just running an aerospace company; he’s building a movement to make India self-reliant in aviation. And he’s doing it with the swagger of someone who knows exactly what he’s capable of.
From Blueprints to Breakthroughs
Aman’s story didn’t begin in a boardroom. It began in hangars and workshops, watching his father, a man who spent 45 years mastering aircraft maintenance, and his grandfather, who was in helicopter operations. Aviation wasn’t a career choice for Aman; it was DNA.
Together with his father, Aman took on a problem most people ignored: India’s heavy reliance on foreign equipment. Instead of waiting for imported tools, they built their own test benches and maintenance systems for Jet Airways. And it worked. His early technical drawings even earned regulatory approval, not bad for someone who hadn’t yet graduated.
By the time most of his peers were choosing electives, Aman was representing India in international aerospace competitions and publishing research on next-gen flight systems. It wasn’t long before he founded his first company, Jatayu Unmanned Systems, a drone startup that quickly made waves in India’s defence sector.
The Drone Disruptor
Jatayu didn’t just build drones. It built credibility. The company developed drone and anti-drone technologies that caught the attention of India’s top defence agencies and major airlines like IndiGo and AirAsia. Soon, collaborations with NAL (National Aerospace Laboratories) and HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) followed.
Then came a rare win, funding from a prominent investment firm. For a defence-tech startup in India, that’s like catching lightning in a bottle. It allowed Aman to expand aggressively, develop indigenous aviation solutions, and prove that Indian engineers can lead from the front, not just follow specs from abroad.
While steering Jatayu’s growth, Aman also earned a Master’s degree in Astronautics from Purdue University, where he worked on NASA projects, because, apparently, sleep is optional when you’re building the future.
Building an Aviation Powerhouse
Today, Aman heads Aman Aviation and Aerospace Solutions, a company that’s rewriting how India approaches aircraft maintenance and component repair. It’s not a repair shop, it’s an engineering powerhouse.
The company specializes in Component MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul), a part of aviation that keeps fleets flying safely and efficiently. Aman’s team doesn’t outsource. They design, test, and build in-house, often faster and cheaper than foreign OEMs. Their track record? Zero aircraft were grounded due to their delays.
That kind of reliability doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from an obsession with quality, precision, and a refusal to play small.
“Unless we prioritize indigenization and develop local capabilities, our progress will be limited,” Aman says. “I’ve faced skepticism from foreign OEMs who doubt our ability to handle complex work. Proving them wrong is half the fun.”
A Make-in-India Mission with Teeth
Aman isn’t just waving the Make-in-India flag. He’s actually building the infrastructure behind it. His strategy blends government partnerships with private innovation, an area most startups avoid because of red tape and slow decisions. But Aman thrives in that chaos.
His company is part of India’s ongoing trial phase to evaluate private MRO capabilities, a move that could permanently shift the country’s aviation maintenance ecosystem. By delivering consistent results, his firm is fast becoming a trusted bridge between the government and the private sector.
“We bring corporate-style professionalism to a space that desperately needs it,” he explains. “Faster turnarounds, tighter quality control, and a long-term partnership mindset, that’s how India earns respect in global aviation.”
The Maverick: Big Skies, Bigger Ambitions
Aman’s roadmap doesn’t read like a business plan; it reads like a national strategy. Over the next few years, he plans to expand operations to serve global airlines, from Emirates and Etihad to Delta and beyond. Domestically, his company aims to manage the entire fleet maintenance for the Indian Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, BSF, and paramilitary forces. And he’s not stopping there.
He wants India to export aviation expertise to allied countries, especially those that depend on Western maintenance monopolies. In his words, “Make in India, but think global.”
Beyond aviation, Aman is betting big on rockets, drones, satellites, and space exploration, sectors that could redefine India’s next technological leap. He sees his company becoming a private player in space operations, helping India compete with the likes of SpaceX and Blue Origin. And knowing Aman, it’s not just talk.
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