The first Made-in-India aircraft will be rolled out of the manufacturing facility in September 2026 and the remaining 39 will have to be produced by August 2031.
The new Airbus facility will cater to the export of transport aircraft and additional orders by the IAF drawing investment of over $2bn.
India’s Tata Group has entered a joint venture (JV) with Airbus to manufacture the C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force. This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. It is also the first time that the C295 aircraft will be manufactured outside of Europe. This deal will be a unique opportunity for the Indian private sector to enter the technology-intensive and highly competitive aviation industry.
The facility, based in the western state of Gujrat will cater to the export of transport aircraft and additional orders by the IAF drawing investment of over $2bn.
According to the statement by the Indian defence ministry: “This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. Currently, only state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics makes aircraft for the armed forces.”
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that along with the manufacturing of transport aircraft for the IAF, additional aircraft too will be manufactured at the facility for Air Force requirements, adding that aircraft manufactured here will also be exported in the future.
“Today, a message is being sent to the world that there is a golden opportunity in India. Defence and aerospace are going to be the two important pillars for ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’,” Modi said, as he expressed hope that by 2025, the country’s defence manufacturing scale will cross $25 bn with defence corridors being developed in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
At present India is among the world’s largest defence importers and largely depended on countries like Russia for military equipment.
“India is fast becoming a hub of defence equipment manufacturing. Today we are manufacturing tanks, and submarines, and soon transport aircraft will be added to the list,” the Prime Minister added.
The Agreement
In September 2021, India signed an INR 21,935 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure 56 C295 aircraft to replace the IAF’s ageing Avro-748 planes, which entered service in the early 1960s. Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain within four years, and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.
The 16 fly-away aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to the IAF between September 2023 and August 2025. The first Made-in-India aircraft will be rolled out of the manufacturing facility in September 2026 and the remaining 39 will have to be produced by August 2031.
After the completion of the delivery of 56 aircraft to the IAF, Airbus Defence and Space will be allowed to sell the aircraft manufactured in India to civil operators and export to countries which are cleared by the Government of India. All 56 aircraft will be fitted with an indigenous electronic warfare suite to be developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Limited.
Going ahead, 13,400 parts, 4600 sub-assemblies and all significant components will be manufactured by 25 domestic MSME suppliers from different states in India.
Specifications
The C295MW is a transport aircraft with a 5 to 10-tonne capacity and a maximum speed of 480 kmph. It has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para-dropping of troops and cargo. Short take-off and landing from semi-prepared surfaces are some other features.
According to Airbus, the aircraft has a cabin dimension of 12.7 metres or 41 feet and eight inches and is the longest unobstructed cabin in its class which can accommodate 71 seats. The company also claims that C295 can carry more cargo than its competitors with direct off-loading through the rear ramp.
Airbus claims that with the new C295W version equipped with winglets, the aircraft can transport more payload over larger distances in hot and high conditions, resulting in fuel consumption savings of around 4% and increased safety margins in mountainous regions.
Today’s armed forces have increasing demands for various air transport missions. And no matter what the requirements for an operation are, the C295 stands ready to conduct its mission successfully, Airbus adds.
Topology
As per Airbus, the C295 operates in the Brazilian jungles and Columbian mountains in South America, the deserts of Algeria and Jordan in the middle east and the cold climates of Poland and Finland in Europe. The aircraft has also flown in military operations in Chad, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Role
The C295 can carry troops and logistical supplies from main airfields to forward operating airfields, as tactical transport aircraft. It can also operate on short unprepared airstrips as it is capable of Short Take-off and Landing (STOL). It can operate from short airstrips just 2,200 feet long and can fly low-level operations for tactical missions flying at a low speed of 110 knots, as per Airbus. Going ahead, the aircraft can also be used for casualty or medical evacuation, performing special missions, disaster response and maritime patrol duties.
Going ahead, sources reveal that the Tatas are in talks with Lockheed Martin to sign a billion-dollar deal for manufacturing the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter in India. As per the reports, there are plans to sell the Sikorsky not just to India but to global players.
Lockheed Martin and Tatas already are in a contract. The Tatas manufacture the wings for the F-16 fighter aircraft and components for the C-130 transport aircraft.
With the launch of this facility, India will join the list of select few countries like the US, UK, Russia, France, Italy, Spain, and Ukraine to manufacture the aircraft.
