Make in India: Airbus Defence & TATA consortium to make transport aircrafts for IAF

New Delhi: In a major boost to 'Make in India' and domestic aviation manufacturing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Tata-Airbus facility that will manufacture transport aircrafts' for the Indian Air Force (IAF) on October 30. The facility is situated at Vadodara, Gujarat. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel will also attend the function.

16 transport aircrafts to be delivered by Airbus Defence & 40 to be manufactured in India

It is important to mention here that the Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with M/s Airbus Defence and Space S.A. for the acquisition of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft with associated equipment on September 24, 2021. "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", said Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday.

"This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. The total cost of the project is Rs 21,935 crore. The aircraft can be used for civilian purposes as well", he added.

The first 16 fly-away aircraft are scheduled to be received between September 2023 and August 2025. The first Made-in-India aircraft is expected to be ready by September 2026.

Make in India project to increase defence exports

The project offers a unique opportunity for the Indian private sector to enter into the technology-intensive and highly competitive aviation industry. It will augment domestic aviation manufacturing resulting in reduced import dependence and an expected increase in exports.

TATA consortium to use modern workforce along with advanced technologies

Around 96 percent of the total man-hour work per aircraft that Airbus employs at its manufacturing facility in Spain will be undertaken in India by the TATA consortium. Manufacturing of 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. Various systems such as engines, landing gear, avionics, EW suite etc will be provided by Airbus Defence and Space and integrated into the aircraft by the TATA consortium. The aircraft will be tested as an integrated system by the TATA consortium. The aircraft will be flight tested and delivered through a delivery centre at the TATA consortium facility.

56 transport aircrafts to be fitted with electronic warfare suite

All 56 aircraft will be fitted with the indigenous Electronic Warfare suite of DPSUs Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). After the completion of the delivery of 56 aircraft to IAF, M/s Airbus Defence & Space will be allowed to sell the aircraft manufactured in India to civil operators and export to countries which are cleared by the government.

Officer on Special Duty, Department of Defence Aramane Giridhar, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, DG (Acquisition) Pankaj Agarwal and other senior officials of Ministry of Defence & IAF were also present during the press conference.

(With PTI inputs)

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