New Delhi: The last of the C-295 transport aircraft that is replacing the ageing Avro fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be delivered to India next month, two months ahead of schedule, ThePrint has learnt.
This means that now the focus will be on the first India-built C-295, which, sources in the defence establishment said, was on track to roll out from the final assembly line in Gujarat’s Vadodara.
According to the Rs 21,000-crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space that Spain signed in September 2021, the first 16 aircraft will to be delivered in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain. The delivery was to be completed by September 2025.
The remaining 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.
“The last of the 16 aircraft which was to come from Spain will be handed over to India next month, two months ahead of schedule. The first India-built C-295 is on track and will roll out in September 2026,” a source said. The remaining 39 will be delivered by 2031.
While the final assembly line is in Gujarat, a majority of the work will be done in TASL facilities in Hyderabad and Nagpur. Parts like the fuselage and others will be made in Hyderabad and shipped to Gujarat for the final assembly.
Sources said that Airbus and TATA are also in talks with both the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard for another possible order for the 15 aircraft which are specifically made for maritime operations. As reported earlier by ThePrint, the Indian Navy is looking at placing an order for 9 C-295 aircraft while the Coast Guard is looking at 7.
This is the first time in Indian history that an Indian private company is making an aircraft. In terms of the collaboration between Airbus and TATA, there is nearly 90 percent technology transfer.
In terms of man hours, the aircraft will be built whole in India from the 30th aircraft onwards, he added. This means that there will be no work done by Airbus on the rest of the order outside the country.
About 14,000 parts of the aircraft are being indigenised by the TATA group at the rate of about 4,000 every year. The only parts that will not be indigenised are those which are non-Airbus—like the landing gear, engine, avionics.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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