Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems (TAS) have received a contract to supply 56 Airbus C295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The contract value is estimated at INR 22,000 crore.
Deliveries begin after 2025, and all C295s will be delivered in transport configuration and fitted with an indigenous Electronic Warfare (EW) suite. The IAF becomes the 35th C295 operator worldwide and joins several Asian operators of this type.
Sukaran Singh, MD & CEO, TAS, said, 'This is a moment of pride for Tatas and a milestone for the Indian military manufacturing ecosystem. For the first time, an Indian private company will be wholly manufacturing an aircraft in India.'
Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain. TAS will manufacture and assemble the subsequent 40 aircraft in India as part of its industrial partnership with Airbus.
As India's first-ever private aircraft manufacturing contract, the C295 programme will significantly contribute to developing the country’s military industrial ecosystem. Michael Schoellhorn, CEO, Airbus Defence and Space, said the contract will bring in 15,000 skilled direct jobs and 10,000 indirect positions over the coming ten years.
TAS and Airbus will partner together to fully develop a complete industrial ecosystem: from the manufacture to assembly, test and qualification, to delivery and maintenance of the complete life cycle of the aircraft.
Airbus’ C-295 programme now stands at 278 aircraft, of which 200 have already been delivered, accumulating more than half a million flight hours.