The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to get as many as 56 Airbus C-295 medium tactical transport aircraft, out of which 40 will be built in the newly-inaugurated Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) plant in Vadodara.
The Indian manufacturing consortium is led by TASL, which is the Tata group's strategic entity under Tata Aerospace and Defence in an industrial partnership with Airbus Defence and Space SA, Spain.
The foundation stone for the Final Assembly Line (FAL) plant was laid in 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The ministry of defence, in September 2021, signed a Rs 21,935-crore contract with Airbus Defense and Space SA, Spain for the supply of 56 aircraft for the IAF.
ALSO READ: How induction of 56 C-295 military aircraft will make Indian Air Force more deadly and agile?
Of the 40 aircraft to be made in India, the first C-295 will roll out of the Vadodara facility in September 2026 and the remaining 39 aircraft by August 2031, according to news agency PTI.
TASL is the first private sector Final Assembly Line (FAL) for military aircraft in India. It is responsible for the full development of a complete ecosystem from the manufacture to assembly, test and qualification, to delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft, in what comes as a major push for the government's 'make in India' ambitions.
After the inauguration of the plant, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the facility would not only strengthen the relations between India and Spain but also give momentum to the mission of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’. He pointed out that the new aircraft factory will give a big boost to new skills and new industries in India.
Modi observed that India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem was scaling new peaks now and credited this to the “concrete steps” taken 10 years ago.
“We expanded private sector participation in defense manufacturing, made public sector units more efficient, restructured ordnance factories into seven major companies, and empowered DRDO and HAL”, Modi said.
The PM said projects like the Airbus-Tata factory will create thousands of jobs, and added that the factory will support indigenous manufacturing of 18,000 aircraft parts, providing immense opportunities for MSMEs across India.
All 56 aircraft will be equipped with an electronic warfare suite that will be indigenously manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
The production of components of C-295 aircraft already started in the Main Constituent Assembly (MCA) facility in Hyderabad. These parts will be shipped to the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vadodara.