Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) have officially inaugurated the new final assembly line (FAL) for Indian built C295 military transport aircraft.
The new facility in Vadodara, Gujarat forms part of the “Make In India” partnership with Airbus and will deliver 40 C295 aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The site was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi along with the President of the Government of Spain Pedro Sanchez Perez Castejon.
N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, said, “The Tata Group is very proud in setting up this advanced facility which will manufacture the nation’s first private defence aircraft from the ground up. It will significantly enhance both defence and advance manufacturing capabilities.
“I am thankful to Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón and the distinguished guests for joining us at this momentous occasion in India’s indigenous manufacturing journey.”
“The inauguration of this final assembly line (FAL) is a significant milestone in India’s journey towards self-reliance in defence manufacturing. The C295 India programme demonstrates Airbus’ commitment to supporting India’s vision of ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ in defence manufacturing. Aligned to this vision, this FAL will propel the advancement of the aerospace industrial ecosystem in the country, unlocking the potential for cutting-edge design, component manufacturing, aircraft assembly and services capabilities across the Indian value chain,” added Michael Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space.
India is building toward self-reliance, a programme known as “AatmaNirbhar Bharat” and the C295 FAL provides a major boost to that as it means the Indian Air Force aircraft will be built and maintained within India. Major parts are also being manufactured at a facility in Hyderabad.
In total the Indian Air Force will receive 56 C295s with the initial 16 being assembled in Seville, Spain to a fly-away condition.
