India gets its 1st private facility for making military aircraft in Vadodara

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez on Oct 28 inaugurated the Tata Advanced System Limited (TASL)-Airbus facility to manufacture C-295 military aircraft in India. The Tata-Airbus facility is the first private sector final assembly line for military aircraft in India.

On the occasion, Modi said the facility will not only strengthen India-Spain relationship, but also "boost our mission of 'Make in India, Make for the World'.

The aircraft manufactured at this facility will be exported as well in future, he said.

Modi also expressed hope that the ecosystem created by this manufacturing facility will help India manufacture civil aircraft in future.

Sanchez said the first aircraft will be ready to roll out from this facility in 2026.

In September 2021, India sealed a nearly ₹21,000 crore deal with the Airbus Defense and Space to procure 56 C-295 transport aircraft to replace the ageing Avro-748 planes of the Indian Air Force, under a project that entails manufacturing of military aircraft in India for the first time by a private company.

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.

The subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by the Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.

The facility here will involve the full development of a complete ecosystem, from manufacture to assembly, test and qualification, to delivery and maintenance of the complete life cycle of the aircraft.

Apart from the Tatas, leading defense public sector units, such as Bharat Electronics and Bharat Dynamics, as well as private micro, small and medium enterprises will contribute to this program, a release earlier said.