The manufacturing facility for C-295 transport aircraft by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) in consortium with and technology transfer from Airbus will be set up at Vadodara in Gujarat and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the plant on October 30.
The 56 C-295 aircraft contracted will replace the legacy Avro aircraft in service with the Indian Air Force (IAF).
“This is the start of an entire ecosystem for the aviation sector. This facility will act as regional Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub for all C-295, said Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said briefing the media. “The first 16 fly-away aircraft are scheduled to be received between September 2023 and August 2025. The first Made in India aircraft is expected from September 2026 and completed by 2031 at the rate of eight aircraft per year.”
Mr. Kumar said that in future this facility will also be manufacturing additional aircraft as per requirements of IAF and also export.
In response to a question, Mr. Kumar said that there is no ban imposed by the MoD on imports but the effort was to encourage that anything that can be manufactured in India should be procured from here.
The IAF has 56 Avro transport aircraft procured in the 1960s and in urgent need of replacement. The Request For Proposal (RFP) was issued to global firms in May 2013 and the sole bid by Airbus and TASL with the C-295 aircraft was approved by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in May 2015.
In September 2021, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a ₹21,935 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space, Spain for the procurement of 56 C-295MW aircraft. This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India under technology transfer by the private sector.
The C-295 has very good fuel efficiency and can take off and land unprepared as well as short runways, said Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, Vice Chief of the Air Force. The IAF will also raise its first C-295 squadron in Vadodara by converting one of the Avro squadrons in the region as the fly away aircraft begin coming in the second half of next year, he stated.
To a question, if the C-295 could be made the replacement for AN-32 transporters in the future, Air Marshal Singh said they would make a decision on the replacement in five odd years from now. The AN-32s, the workhorse of the IAF, over 100 of which are in service will be in service upto 2032 and afterwards.
The C295 is an aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity used for tactical transport of up to 71 passengers or 50 paratroopers, and for logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to current heavier aircraft and has a proven capability of operating from short or unprepared airstrips.
Stating that the project offers a unique opportunity for the Indian private sector to enter into technology intensive and highly competitive aviation industry, Mr. Kumar said it will augment domestic aviation manufacturing resulting in reduced import dependence and expected increase in exports.
“Also, 96% of the total man-hour work per aircraft that Airbus employs at its manufacturing facility in Spain will be undertaken in India by the TATA Consortium,” he stated. Manufacturing of over 13,400 Detail Parts, 4,600 sub-assemblies, and all the seven major component assemblies will be undertaken in India, along with tools, jigs and testers, he said elaborating.
All 56 aircraft will be fitted with an Electronic Warfare suite supplied by Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited, Mr. Kumar stated. The aircraft will be tested as an integrated system by the Tata Consortium and will be flight tested and delivered through a Delivery Centre at the Tata Consortium facility. After completion of the delivery of 56 aircraft to IAF, Airbus Defence & Space will be allowed to sell the aircraft manufactured in India to civil operators and export to countries that are cleared by the Government of India, Mr. Kumar added.
Employment generation
The MoD said that the consortium has identified more than 125 in-country Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) suppliers spread over seven states. This will act as a catalyst in employment generation in the aerospace ecosystem of the country and is expected to generate 600 highly skilled jobs directly, over 3,000 indirect jobs, and an additional 3,000 medium-skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man-hours of work within the aerospace and defence sector of India, an MoD statement said. Nearly 240 engineers will be trained at Airbus facility in Spain.
