Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will inaugurate the Tata-Airbus facility in Vadodara, Gujarat, on Monday. It will manufacture C-295 military transport aircraft. This facility marks a milestone as India’s first private sector final assembly line for military aircraft.
The project stems from a Rs 21,935-crore contract signed between India and Airbus in September 2021 to strengthen self-reliance in defence manufacturing. Under the agreement, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Airbus are collaborating to produce 56 C-295 aircraft, with the first 16 being delivered directly by Airbus and the remaining 40 to be assembled at the new Vadodara plant.
“The two leaders will inaugurate the Final Assembly Line plant of C-295 aircraft at Vadodara, a flagship “Make in India” initiative in the aviation sector, which Tata Advanced Systems are setting up in collaboration with Airbus Spain,” an MEA source said.
Airbus has delivered six C-295 aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF), with the seventh expected to enter service by the end of the year. According to the delivery timeline, all 16 flyaway aircraft are set to be delivered to the IAF by August 2025. The first India-assembled C-295 from the Vadodara facility is scheduled to roll out in September 2026, with the remaining 39 units planned for delivery by August 2031.
“It will involve the full development of a complete ecosystem from the manufacture to assembly, test and qualification, delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft,” the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement on Saturday.
The multirole C-295 aircraft can carry up to nine tons of payload, including 71 soldiers, with a short take-off and land capability from semi-prepared surfaces in hilly terrain. It will boost the Indian Air Force’s tactical airlift capability along the China border. The C-295 aircraft will replace the IAF’s ageing HS-748 Avro transport aircraft fleet, which entered service in the early 1960s.
WATCH 🎥 | Airbus Delivers First C-295 Aircraft To IAF Chief In Spain.@RRaviishankarr @AirbusDefence @IAF_MCC @SpokespersonMoD @HQ_IDS_India @nitingokhale @CaptDKS https://t.co/oL6I7ZvkE9
— BharatShakti.in (@BharatShaktiBSI) September 14, 2023
First C-295 Handeover to then IAF Chief Chaudhari in Seville, Spain
The Indian Air Force (IAF) inducted its first C-295 transport aircraft in September 2023. The handover ceremony took place on September 13 in Seville, Spain, where then IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari accepted the aircraft from Airbus Defence and Space. Chaudhari remarked, “It gives a tremendous boost to the capability of moving our forces to the frontline when required.”
In an interview with BharatShakti at the Airbus facility, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari highlighted that the C-295 project is a significant step toward India’s self-reliance in defence manufacturing. He noted that “more than 13,000 parts and 7,600 sub-assemblies will be manufactured in India,” involving over 125 MSMEs in the process, thus helping to establish a robust defence manufacturing ecosystem in the country.
In October 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the C-295 manufacturing facility in Vadodara. This facility marks a historic milestone as it will be the first in India to manufacture a military aircraft through a private consortium. Additionally, Airbus will establish a complete production line outside Spain for the first time. The Vadodara assembly line is designed to produce up to 12 aircraft annually, significantly enhancing India’s defence manufacturing capabilities.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to become the world’s largest operator of the C-295 aircraft. The replacement of the ageing Avro fleet has been planned for over a decade. In 2012, India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the country’s highest defence procurement authority, granted the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procuring 56 new aircraft to replace the Avros.
The C-295 contract includes comprehensive support features, such as performance-based logistics for five years, the provision of spares across ten operating bases for a decade, ground support and testing equipment, and training programs.
Ravi Shankar
