Adding another feather to the city’s emerging aerospace market, Indian Rotocraft, a joint venture of the Tata Sons and Augusta Westland, has decided to set up facility that will assemble, customise and flight-test helicopters for worldwide markets near the Rajiv Gandhi International airport here.
To be located on a 10-acre site adjacent to the international airport, the new facility will include a 9,000 sq ft building incorporating the main assembly building, flight hangar and office accommodation besides several chopper landing pads outside. The joint venture, with a capacity of 30 units a year, will initially start producing the 8-seat AW119Ke light helicopter with production expected to commence from mid next year.
The facility has been designed to enable further development for other types of choppers right up to the 16-tonne AW 101. The ground breaking ceremony marking the commencement of construction was performed in the presence of Tata Sons chairman Ratan N. Tata, Augusta Westland CEO Bruno Spagnolini group and others here on Wednesday.
This is the second such chopper producing facility to be set up in the city after the Tata-Sikorsky joint venture for manufacturing the helicopter cabins at up at the aerospace special economic zone on the city outskirts.
Mr. Ratan Tata said the project was integral to Tata Sons plans in the aerospace sector. The company looked forward for an enduring partnership with Augusta Westland to foster growth of the Indian aerospace sector.
Mr. Spagnolini said the facility would not only be able to build helicopters for Indian market, but it would supply choppers to the company’s customers around the world. Close to 50 Augusta Westland helicopters had been sold in India in the last six years including almost 20 AW139 medium twins.
