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Vadodara gets Tata-Airbus plant for IAF’s C-295 aircraft

2022-10-31

Tata, Airbus grab Rs 22,000-cr project to make C-295 aircraft in Gujarat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for a plant in Vadodara that will manufacture the Airbus C-295 transport aircraft. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had announced last week that it had for the first time entrusted a private firm, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), to manufacture an entire aircraft for the military.

This contract is expected to support the development of India’s aerospace ecosystem, bringing 15,000 skilled direct jobs and 10,000 indirect positions over the coming decade, besides a large investment, according to Airbus officials.

In September 2021, the MoD had signed a Rs 219.35 billion contract with Airbus for 56 C-295 aircraft. Since they were to replace the Indian Air Force’s aged fleet of Avro HS-748 aircraft, this deal earned the sobriquet of ‘Avro replacement programme’.

The programme will require TASL to develop an entire industrial ecosystem, from manufacture, assembly, testing and qualification, to delivery and maintenance over the aircraft’s life.

The IAF will be the 35th operator of the C-295 worldwide. Airbus has orders for 278 of these aircraft, of which more than 200 are already in operation.

Under the contract, Airbus would build the first 16 aircraft on its final assembly line in Seville (Spain) and deliver them to the IAF in ‘fly-away condition’ between September 2023 and August 2025. The remaining 40 aircraft are to be manufactured by TASL working along with Tata Consultancy Services TCS).