Airbus Defense and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will jointly execute the project to equip the air force with the new transport aircraft under the Make-in-India initiative in the aerospace sector.
The approval was granted on Sept. 8 by the Indian government’s apex armament review and clearance body, the Cabinet Committee on Security, led by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The procurement is the first project in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India under the structure of technology transfer by a private company, according to the release given by the Ministry of Defense.
A $2.5 billion contract will get signed with Airbus next month. The original equipment manufacturer will directly supply 16 military aircraft.
The remaining 40 will be manufactured in India by Tata Group subsidiary Tata Advanced Systems Limited, or TASL said an MoD official.
A different $500 million contract will also get signed later with TASL for performance-based life cycle product support of the Indian Air Force’s C295 fleet.
This project will augment domestic aviation manufacturing resulting in reduced import dependence and an expected increase in exports.
Airbus Defense and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will jointly execute the project to equip the air force with the latest transport aircraft under the Make-in-India initiative in the aerospace sector.
Airbus will be in charge of supplying the first 16 aircraft in flyaway condition within 48 months of signing the contract, while the remaining 40 will be assembled in India by TASL.
Many intricate and complex parts, sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of the aerostructure will get made in India.
The project will also involve developing specialized infrastructure in hangars, buildings, aprons and taxiways.
The programme will generate 600 highly skilled jobs directly, over 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3000 medium skill employment opportunities.
The ministry hopes this project will help reduce import dependence in defence and also a rise in exports.
“All of the 56 aircraft will be installed with India’s indigenous electronic warfare suite. The project will give a major boost to the aerospace ecosystem in India wherein several MSMEs spread over the country will be involved in manufacturing parts of the aircraft,” the statement said.
CONCLUSION
The programme will give a significant boost to India’s manufacturing capabilities and at the same time allow the Indian private sector to enter into the technology-intensive and highly competitive aviation industry.
And this will augment domestic aviation manufacturing resulting in reduced imports and an expected increase in exports, it said.
These 56 C295 aircraft will get inducted into the Air Force within the next ten years. They are meant to replace Air forces’ current 59 obsolete Avro HS 748 aircraft manufactured by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The procurement of C295 got delayed by more than three years over various topics like price negotiations, the localization of Indian-made aircraft, offsets, performance-based logistics issues, etc.
