The Ministry of Defence on Thursday said that a manufacturing facility to produce Airbus C-295 transport aircraft will be set up in Gujarat’s Vadodara. A consortium led by Tata group and Airbus will manufacture 40 C-295 transport aircraft.
The facility’s foundation stone will be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 30.
This is the first time when a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. The C-295 aircraft will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
The facility is part of the Rs 21,000-crore deal between India and German aeronautics company Airbus Defence and Space. New Delhi will procure 56 C-295 transport aircraft under the deal, which was signed in September 2021.
Airbus will deliver 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition by 2025 after which 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled in India by Tata Advanced Systems.
This is a significant first step of a comprehensive quality assurance roadmap agreed between Airbus and DGAQA for the C295 ‘Make in India’ programme.