Cabinet approves procurement of 56 transport aircraft, 40 to be manufactured in India

Source : India Today

C-295 MW transport aircraft will replace Avro aircraft of the Indian Air Force (Photo: Twitter)

The Cabinet Committee on Security on Wednesday approved the procurement of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft from Spain's Airbus Defence and Space for the Indian Air Force. Among these,16 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain, while 40 to be manufactured in India.

“Sixteen aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of signing of the contract and forty aircraft will be manufactured in India by TATA Consortium within ten years of signing of the contract,” said the Ministry of Defence in a statement. 

This is for the first time that a project of this kind has been approved where a military aircraft will be manufactured in the country by a private firm. 

“All the 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous electronic warfare suite,” said the defence ministry. 

Apart from Tata Consortium, the project will give a boost to the aerospace ecosystem in India wherein several MSMEs spread over the country will be involved in the manufacturing of parts of the aircraft. This is seen as a major boost to the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' of the government as it offers a unique opportunity for the Indian private sector to enter into the technology-intensive and highly competitive aviation industry.

Through this project, the Indian government is also augmenting domestic aviation manufacturing resulting in reduced import dependence and an expected increase in exports.

As per the release, a large number of detailed parts, sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aerostructure are scheduled to be manufactured in India. 

Under the project, around 600 highly skilled jobs are expected to generate directly, while over 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3000 medium skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man-hours of work within the aerospace and defence sector of India will be generated. 

Among other details, the defence ministry said that during the process of manufacturing in India, it is expected that all the suppliers of TATA Consortium who will be involved in special processes will gain and maintain globally recognised National Aerospace and Defence Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP) accreditation. 

Also, ‘D’ Level servicing facility (MRO) for C-295MW aircraft are scheduled to be set up in India before completion of deliveries. It is expected that this facility will act as a regional MRO hub for various variants of C-295 aircraft. 

C-295MW aircraft is a transport aircraft of 5-10 Tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of IAF. The aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para dropping of troops and cargo.