The government announced on Thursday that a transport aircraft manufacturing facility for the Indian Air Force will be built in Vadodara. This will be a big step forward in the very competitive aviation industry and help the Make-in-India defence programme.
At first, 40 of the 56 C-295MW transport planes being bought from the Spanish company Airbus Defence and Space SA will be made at the new facility in Vadodara.
On October 30, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the first stone of the building in Vadodara. Some of the people who will be at the event are Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
After the Cabinet Committee on Security agreed to buy 56 C-295MW transport planes from Airbus Defence and Space SA in September 2021, the Ministry of Defense signed a contract to buy the planes and the equipment they need.
At a press conference on Thursday, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said that as part of the contract, 16 aircraft will be delivered ready to fly, and 40 will be made in India by the Indian aircraft contractor Tata consortium of Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), led by TASL.
“We expect to get the first 16 flyaway planes between September 2023 and August 2025. “In September 2026, the first plane made in India is expected,” Kumar said.
The plane will be able to land on Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) or even unprepared runways, and it can carry about 40–45 paratroopers or about 70 passengers.
“This is the first time that the C-295 plane will be made somewhere other than Europe. “This is a big deal for the American space industry,” he said.
It is also the first time that a private company in India will make a military plane as part of a project. The whole project will cost Rs 21,935 crore. The plane can also be used for nonmilitary things.
The C-295MW is a modern transport plane that can carry between 5 and 10 tonnes of cargo. It will replace the IAF’s old Avro planes. It has a ramp door in the back so that troops and cargo can be dropped quickly and by parachute. It can take off quickly and land on surfaces that have only been partially prepared.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defense said that all 56 aircraft will be outfitted with an Electronic Warfare suite made by Indian DPSUs Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Limited.
“After IAF receives all 56 aircraft, Airbus Defence & Space will be able to sell aircraft made in India to civil operators and export to countries approved by the Government of India,” the document said.
The Ministry said that the project is a one-of-a-kind chance for the Indian private sector to get into the highly competitive and technology-driven aviation industry. 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, it said that the Tata Consortium would do in India 96% of the total man-hours of work that Airbus does at its factory in Spain for each plane.
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