PM Modi Lays The Groundwork For A C-295 Aircraft Manufacturer In Vadodara

Today, in Vadodara, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Gujarat for a visit, laid the foundation stone for a factory that will make C-295 transport aircraft.

At the event, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Tata Sons chairperson N Chandrasekaran praised PM Modi and gave him a gift.

Defense Ministry officials said that Tata-Airbus will make the C-295 transport plane for the Indian Air Force.

Defense Secretary Aramane Giridhar said that in addition to making 40 planes, this facility in Vadodara would also make more planes for the Air Force and for export.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh spoke at the event and said, “Today, for the first time in the country, a private company is putting down the foundation of a place to make aeroplanes. It is a great source of pride for both the defence industry and the whole country.”

“It is not just a foundation stone, but also a major step in the “Atmanirbharta” journey of the defence sector. The C-295s made at this facility will be state-of-the-art planes that can do more and meet global standards. It will make a big difference in the Indian Air Force’s ability to handle logistics “Singh added.

With the opening of the C295 aircraft manufacturing facility, India will join an elite group of about a dozen countries that can make military transport planes.

At the moment, this is possible in the US, Japan, UK, Russia, France, Italy, Spain, Ukraine, Brazil, China, and Japan.

Tata-Airbus said that making the C-295 is “the first Make in India aerospace programme in the private sector involving the full development of a complete industrial ecosystem.” This includes everything from making the plane to putting it together, testing and qualifying it, delivering it, and keeping it running for its whole life.

Under the terms of the deal, 16 C-295 aircraft will be delivered ready to fly between September 2023 and August 2025. The remaining 40 aircraft will be made at the facility in Vadodara.
“Indian content in the planes will be the highest it has ever been,” which is another first. Also, 96 percent of the work that Airbus does in Spain will now be done at the new facility.

According to the Defense Ministry, this project “offers the Indian private sector a one-of-a-kind chance to get into the highly competitive aviation industry, which is based on technology. It will increase the number of aeroplanes made in the United States, which will make the country less reliant on imports and likely increase exports.”

Also, 25 domestic MSME suppliers from seven states will make 13,400 parts, 4,600 sub-assemblies, and all of the important component assemblies. All 56 of these planes will have an electronic warfare system that was made in India by Bharat Electronics Ltd. and Bharat Dynamics Ltd.

The military transport aircraft industry is expected to be worth USD 45 billion by 2030, according to a report by Allied Market Research. By 203, the Tata-Airbus facility should be done with its commitment to the IAF and start selling its products in other countries as well.

Since military transport aircraft are much more reliable and technologically advanced than commercial airliner, making the C295 will make it possible for commercial aircraft manufacturing to pick up in the United States. Since 2011, Indian airlines have been one of the biggest buyers of commercial planes, with more than 1,100 planes on order.

Together, the need for commercial aircraft, the C295 aircraft manufacturing facility, and the supply chain that goes with it will create the right environment for India’s commercial aircraft manufacturing industry to grow.
The factory in Vadodara will be set up to make 8 planes per year at first, but it was made so that it can also meet the needs of the Indian military or make planes to sell abroad.

The Defense Ministry says that once 56 planes have been given to IAS, the combine will be able to sell India-made C295 planes to civil operators and countries that the government has approved. People think that the Vadodara facility will do as well at exporting missiles as Brahmos did.

Make in India got a big boost. The ambitious Make in India programme of the Modi government has started to change India’s defence sector in a big way. Several projects are currently underway to make missiles, field guns, tanks, aircraft carriers, drones, fighter planes, tanks, and helicopters in India. These projects are meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces to modernise their defences.

But military transport planes were one of the most important pieces of the defence industrial complex that were missing. The joint venture between Tata and Airbus has filled in that missing piece and will give the Narendra Modi government’s Make in India programme a big boost. The Indian Armed Forces will no longer have to use 1960s-era Avro planes to get around.