New Delhi: European aviation major Airbus and India’s TATA group will jointly manufacture at least 40 C-295 transport aircraft in India with the final assembly line to be set up in Gujarat’s Vadodara as part of a Rs 21,935-crore deal.
The foundation stone for the production facility will be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday to take forward the agreement struck last year for 56 C-295MW aircraft of 5 to 10 tonne capacity, with modern technology.
Defence sources said parts of the aircraft would be manufactured at different places in the country depending on requirement.
Incidentally, the first squadron of the aircraft will also be raised in Vadodara.
The project, which seeks to replace the ageing fleet of the Avro transport aircraft that first flew in 1961, has been in the works since 2010.
While cost negotiations of the contract were completed seven years ago, the deal was stuck due to finance issues and prioritisation of various other projects. There has not been a price escalation by Airbus since 2014.
40 to be manufactured in India
As part of the contract, 16 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition and 40 will be manufactured in India by the Indian Aircraft Contractor — TATA Consortium of Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) led by TASL.
The first 16 fly-away aircraft are scheduled to be received from Airbus, Spain between September 2023 and August 2025 while the first Made in India aircraft is expected from September 2026, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar told journalists in New Delhi.
He said eight aircraft per year would be manufactured in India, starting 2026.
This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company.
Kumar said this project should not be seen as a one-off effort to build the C-295 aircraft, but as the harbinger of a new ecosystem for the aviation sector.
More orders to be placed
Sources in the defence establishment said while the IAF order as of now was only 56, the Navy and the Coast Guard are also looking at 16 each.
Moreover, since the C-295 are comparable to the AN32s in terms of load capacity with better avionics, fuel efficiency and landing capabilities, the IAF may place additional orders based on a study it has initiated for transport capability in the future.
Since its dimensions are smaller than the IAF’s fleet of C-130Js, C-17s and IL-76s, the C-295s can take off and land at many airstrips and airports where the larger aircraft can’t.
Kumar said there is an export potential for the aircraft, and the plan would be to set up a Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) that could cater to the region’s demand.
Countries like UAE, Philippines, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Indonesia among others operate the C-295 aircraft in the neighbourhood.
IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, who was part of the briefing, said the IAF would eventually become the biggest operator of the C-295 facility in the world.
Asked about the indigenisation content, Kumar said 96 percent of the “total man hour work per aircraft” that Airbus employs at its manufacturing facility in Spain would be undertaken in India by the TATA Consortium. “Manufacturing over 13,400 Detail Parts, 4,600 sub-assemblies and all the seven Major Component Assemblies will be undertaken in India, along with tools, jigs and testers,” he said.
A statement released by the Defence Ministry said various systems such as engines, landing gear, avionics, EW suite etc would be provided by Airbus Defence & Space and integrated on the aircraft by the TATA Consortium.
All 56 aircraft will be fitted with indigenous Electronic Warfare suite manufactured by Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Limited.
Kumar said the aircraft would be tested as an integrated system by the TATA Consortium and will also be delivered through self-certification, a first for the country.
Kumar added this was being done as part of a process to adopt international practices since Airbus self-certifies its own aircraft abroad.
The Defence Secretary said a new policy was being worked out so that it could be extended to other manufacturers also.
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