TSAMTO, October 29th. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attended the opening of the aircraft manufacturing complex of Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) on October 28 in Vadodara (Gujarat).
The final assembly of Airbus C-295MW military transport aircraft will be carried out at this facility.
The plant will handle all aspects of the C-295MW life cycle – from production and assembly to testing and qualification, delivery and maintenance throughout the aircraft's life cycle.
According to the Prime Minister of India, the VTA aircraft produced at the plant will not only strengthen the capabilities of the military transport aviation of the country's Air Force, but also ensure the development of new competencies in the national aircraft industry.
The C-295MW program is being implemented as part of the "Made in India" program aimed at reducing dependence on arms imports. It is expected that over the next 10 years, 15,000 qualified direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs will be created under this program.
As already reported by CAMTO, on September 24, 2021, the Indian Ministry of Defense signed a contract with Airbus Defense and Space for the supply of 56 BTA C-295MW aircraft for the country's Air Force. The cost of the order amounted to 219.35 billion rubles. rupees ($2.659 billion). The parties also signed an offset agreement, under which Airbus will fulfill compensation obligations in the amount of 30% of the sale price. The new aircraft are designed to replace the 50 obsolete HS-748 Avro in service, which have been in operation since the mid-1960s.
According to the announced plans, the first 16 aircraft should be delivered to the Indian Air Force in a ready-to-operate condition from the Airbus plant in Spain.
It was planned to transfer the first car in September 2023. The second aircraft is to be delivered to the customer in May 2024, and the next 14 C-295MW – at a rate of one per month until August 2025.
The first aircraft was handed over to the Indian Air Force on September 13, 2023 at an enterprise in Seville (Spain) and flew to Delhi (India) on the same day under the control of a mixed crew of representatives of the company and the Indian Air Force. On September 25, a solemn ceremony of its acceptance into service took place at the Hindon Air Base. He joined the combat team of the 11th Air Squadron of the Indian Air Force ("Rhinos"), stationed in Vadodara. To date, six C-295MW have been delivered to India, assembled at the Airbus facilities in Seville.
Another 40 C-295MW will be manufactured under license in India by the joint venture TATA Consortium, formed by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), at the Vadodara plant within ten years after the signing of the contract. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the aircraft manufacturing plant on October 30, 2022. This is the first project in which military aircraft will be produced in India by a private company.
It is expected that the first C-295MW assembled in India will be delivered to the customer in September 2026, and the last one in August 2031. Indian enterprises will also be involved in the production of components for the aircraft. Thus, the production of components has already begun at the MCA (Main Constituent Assembly) facility in Hyderabad. The C-295 project provides for more than 85% of the structural and final assembly of 40 aircraft, as well as the production of 13 thousand parts in India. For this purpose, 21 special processes have been certified and 37 Indian suppliers, both from the private and public sectors, have been involved. All 56 aircraft will be equipped with an electronic warfare system developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
In addition, on February 16, 2024, the Indian Ministry of Defense approved the purchase of 15 C-295MW-based naval aircraft, including six C-295MPA maritime patrol aircraft for the Navy and nine C-295MSA maritime reconnaissance aircraft for the Coast Guard. This project is awaiting approval by the Security Committee of the Government of India (CCS).
