“Today India is working with a new mindset and a new work culture,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
Baroda:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday after laying the foundation stone for the Indian Air Force’s C-295 medium transport aircraft manufacturing facility that India will now be a major producer of transport aircraft.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is witnessing rapid economic growth, including manufacturing, because of his government’s policies that are “stable, predictable and futuristic”.
“Today India is working with a new mindset and a new work culture,” he said while speaking at the ceremony in the city of Gujarat.
He said that India is further strengthening its power with its “Made in India” and “Made in the World” approach and the country has become a major global manufacturing hub.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that building the C295 aircraft in Baroda would not only strengthen the military but would also create an aerospace ecosystem.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh called the event a milestone in India’s quest for self-reliance.
The aircraft will be produced by a consortium of European aerospace giants Airbus and Tata Group.
This is the first project of its kind to manufacture a military aircraft in India by a private company.
The manufacturing unit will also cater for the export of major transport aircraft as well as additional orders from the Indian Air Force.
In September last year, India signed a Rs 21,935 crore agreement with Airbus Defence and Space to procure 56 C-295 aircraft to replace the IAF’s aging Avro-748 aircraft, which entered service in the early 1960s.
Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in a “fly away” state from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain, over four years, with a subsequent 40 to be delivered by India’s Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL). ) manufacture. Industrial partnership between the two companies.
The 16 take-off aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to the Indian Air Force between September 2023 and August 2025.
First Indian-made aircraft to roll off the assembly line in September 2026, the rest39 units must be produced by August 2031.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiratiya Sindia and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabai Patel.
IAF officials say the C-295 will be able to operate on runways that are not even prepared at advanced landing sites (ALGs).
This is also the first time a C-295 has been built outside of Europe.
All 56 aircraft will be equipped with indigenous electronic warfare suites developed by state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Limited.
After completing the delivery of 56 aircraft to the Indian Air Force, Airbus Defence and Space will be allowed to sell the aircraft made in India to civilian operators and export them to countries approved by the Indian government.
Three days ago, Defence Minister Ajay Kumar said the plane would have the highest indigenous content ever in India and that 96 percent of the work Airbus did in Spain to produce the plane would be in Vadodara. The manufacturing unit is completed.
The C-295MW is a 5-10 ton transport aircraft with modern technology. The plane has a top speed of 480 kilometers per hour.
It has a rear ramp door for quick response and airborne troops and cargo. Take-off and landing at short distances from semi-prepared surfaces is another feature of it.
The aircraft will enhance the logistics capabilities of the Indian Air Force.
Officials say the project offers a unique opportunity for India’s private sector to enter the technology-intensive and competitive aviation industry.
Manufacturing of the aircraft’s more than 13,400 detailed components, 4,600 sub-assemblies and all seven major component assemblies will take place in India, the Ministry of Defence said.
Various systems such as engines, landing gear and avionics will be supplied by Airbus Defence and Space and integrated into the aircraft by the TATA consortium, it said.
The C-295 has proven capability to operate on short or unprepared runways, and can be used for tactical transport of up to 71 soldiers or 50 paratroopers, as well as logistical operations to locations currently inaccessible to heavy aircraft.
The aircraft can air drop paratroopers and payloads, and can also be used for wounded or medical evacuation.
The aircraft is capable of performing special missions as well as disaster response and maritime patrol missions.
The aircraft will be tested by the TATA consortium as an integrated system. The aircraft will be flight tested and delivered through a delivery center at a TATA Alliance facility.
The project is expected to directly create 600 high-skilled jobs, more than 3,000 indirect jobs and 3,000 medium-skilled jobs in the aerospace and defense sector, with more than 4.25 million man-hours worked.
Nearly 240 engineers will be trained on the project at the Airbus factory in Spain.
(Apart from the title, this story was unedited by NDTV staff and was posted from a syndicated feed.)