Airbus Defence & Space and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) have inaugurated a final assembly line for the C295 tactical transport in Vadodara, India.
The assembly line will produce 40 aircraft for the Indian air force, say Airbus and TASL in a joint statement.
The pair add that this is the “first instance of the private sector setting up an aircraft [final assembly line] in India”.
Local manufacturing is a key priority for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who attended the inauguration.
The aircraft are part of an order for 56 examples signed in 2021. The contract called for 16 to be produced in Seville, Spain and the remaining 40 in India.
The first Seville-produced C295 was handed over in September 2023. So far six examples have been delivered.
“The Tata Group is very proud in setting up this advanced facility which will manufacture the nation’s first private defence aircraft from the ground up,” says Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran.
“It will significantly enhance both defence and advance manufacturing capabilities.”
The C295 is replacing the IAF’s ageing fleet of Hindustan Aeronautics-built HS 748s – known as the “Avro”.
