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Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility – the country’s first in the private sector – in Vadodara. The facility will manufacture C-295 aircraft for the Indian Air Force through a collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus Defence and Space S.A, Spain. 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. Further, more than 100 MSMEs are associated with the project.

Commenting on the fast-evolving aviation sector of India, PM Modi said that the country is about to enter among the top three countries in the world concerning air traffic. The UDAN scheme has helped in turning many commuters into air travellers, he said. Highlighting the increased demand for passenger and cargo aircraft, the Prime Minister stated that India will need more than 2,000 aircraft in the next 15 years.

As per the Government, the first 16 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition, scheduled to be received between September 2023 and August 2025. The remaining 40 will be manufactured at the Vadodara manufacturing facility. The first Made in India aircraft is expected in September 2026.

Also, 96% 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 & Space and integrated into the aircraft by the TATA Consortium. The aircraft will be tested as an integrated system by the TATA Consortium.

All 56 aircraft will be fitted with an indigenous Electronic Warfare suite manufactured by Indian DPSUs – Bharat Electronics and Bharat Dynamics. After completion of the delivery of 56 aircraft to IAF, 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 of India.

The TATA Consortium has identified more than 125 in-country MSME suppliers spread over seven states. This will act as a catalyst in employment generation in the aerospace ecosystem of the country and is expected to generate 600 highly skilled jobs directly, over 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3,000 medium-skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man-hours of work within the aerospace and defence sector of India. Nearly 240 engineers will be trained at the Airbus facility in Spain.