Within three years of the Tata Boeing Aerospace (TBAL) facility becoming operational, the company has delivered its 100th Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter fuselage. TBAL is the sole supplier for Apache fuselages produced globally by Boeing.
Apache fuselage sections are manufactured at TBAL’s Hyderabad facility in Telengana, following which they are transported to Mesa, Arizona, where they are integrated into the final assembly line at the Apache manufacturing facility.
Salil Gupte, President, Boeing India said that the airframer has quadrupled its sourcing from India in the past two years to more than $1 billion.
“Skilled talent, robust infrastructure, ease of doing business, and a highly responsive government administration, make Telangana an ideal destination for the high-end manufacturing work that the aerospace and defence industry demands,” he said.
This accomplishment places the Telangana facility as part of the global supply chain for Apache helicopters, said Sukaran Singh, MD & CEO, Tata Advanced Systems (TASL). He added that the 100th fuselage delivery reflects TBAL’s strong ability to industrialise, ramp up and deliver complex aerospace programmes with the highest levels of quality.
Tata Boeing Aerospace is Boeing’s first equity joint venture in India and the result of a partnership agreement inked with TASL in 2015. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is spread over 14,000 sq m and produces aero structures including fuselages, secondary structures and vertical spar boxes for Apache helicopters. Boeing has also added a new production line to manufacture complex vertical fin structures for the 737 jetliner family.
More than 1,200 Apache attack helicopters are operational with the armed forces of 16 countries, including India which has ordered 15 for the air force and six for the army.