Vadodara: As part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India policy in the defence sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone of the C295 aircraft manufacturing facility – the first aircraft manufacturing facility in the private sector in the country.
On this occasion, Modi said that this is the government’s clear vision to make India ‘Aatmnirbhar’, especially in defence sector. ‘For this, we have taken many steps. The aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara is India’s giant leap towards becoming self-reliant in the aviation sector’. PM further said that India is becoming a big manufacturing hub for the world. ‘Make in India, make for the globe. Transport aircraft will give strength to our forces, as well as a new eco-system will develop for the aircraft manufacturing sector. India’s aviation sector is rapidly growing. This a golden opportunity for the world to invest in India. A new saga of economic reforms is being written in India today’, he said.
The facility will be utilised for the manufacturing of 40 C295 aircraft for the Indian Air Force, through collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus Defence and Space, Spain. The facility will be a key step towards achieving Aatmanirbharta in the defence sector, and will also help unlock the potential of the private players in the sector. PM Modi also visited an exhibition showcasing technological and manufacturing strides in the aerospace industry under Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony, N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons said that with the setting up of the Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vadodara, the Tata Group will now be able to take aluminium ingots at one end of the value stream and turn it into an Airbus C295 aircraft for the Indian Air Force. This is a historic moment not only for the Tata Group but for the country, as it embraces the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of being true ‘Atmanirbhar’.
On this occasion, Guillaume Faury, Airbus Chief Executive Officer said, ‘We are honoured to play a role in this historic moment for aerospace in India. Our Airbus teams are committed to supporting the modernisation of the Indian Air Force with the C295 programme, which will also contribute to the development of the private defence manufacturing sector in the country’. The C295 programme, in partnership with the trusted Tata Group, is strongly aligned with the Government of India’s vision of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India), he added.
Notably, on September 2021, India formalized the acquisition of 56 Airbus C295 aircraft to replace the Indian Air Force (IAF) legacy AVRO fleet. It is the first ‘Make in India’ aerospace programme in the private sector, involving the development of a complete industrial ecosystem-from manufacture to assembly, test and qualification, to delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft. This will be the first time in the Indian private sector that an aircraft will be manufactured in-country. from parts to final assembly. The Programme will lead to the development of a strong private industrial aerospace ecosystem in India and will create more than 15,000 skilled direct and indirect jobs across the aerospace ecosystem, and over 125 suppliers qualified on global quality standards across India.
The IAF became the 35th C295 operator worldwide. Till date, the programme counts 285 orders, with more than 200 aircraft delivered, 38 operators from 34 countries as well as 17 orders repeated. In 2021, the C295 achieved more than half-a-million flight hours. With a proven capability of operating from short or unprepared airstrips, the C295 is used for tactical transport of up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers, and for logistic operations to locations that are not accessible to current heavier aircraft. It can airdrop paratroops and loads and can also be used for casualty or medical evacuation. The aircraft can perform special missions as well as disaster response and maritime patrol duties.
The C295 is the most versatile and efficient tactical transport aircraft. It is robust and reliable but also highly versatile in terms of the number of different missions it can perform. The C295 conducts multi-role operations worldwide under all weather conditions. It is fully certified and routinely operates day and night in combat missions in all weather extremes, from desert to maritime environments, from extremely hot to extremely cold temperatures.
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