New Delhi: India Friday signed a nearly Rs 21,000-crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space, Spain, for the acquisition of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) with 40 of them set to be made in India by private firm Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL).
This is the first time in Indian history that a private firm will be manufacturing complete aircraft in the country. The project, which seeks to replace the ageing fleet of the Avros transport aircraft that first flew in 1961, has been in the works since 2010.
While cost negotiations of the contract were completed six years ago, the deal was stuck due to finance issues and prioritisation of various other projects. There has not been a price escalation by Airbus since 2014.
The aircraft, which has a 5-10 tonne capacity, is capable of operating from semi-prepared strips and has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para dropping of troops and cargo. It will give a major boost to the IAF’s tactical airlift capability, especially in the Northern and North-Eastern sector and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, noted the defence ministry in a statement.
“This is a momentous day. It has been 11 years since Airbus and we first agreed to partner for this project. This project is the deepest ‘Make in India’ project that I am aware of in the private sector,” said Sukaran Singh, managing director and chief executive officer of TASL, at a briefing of select group of reporters after the inking of the contract.
“We will literally take raw materials, aluminum blocks from one end and flying aircraft in the other end. This has not been done in the private (sector). Tata has extended itself to software to cars to making planes now,” Sukaran added. Meanwhile, Ratan Tata, former chairman of the Tata group, said the joint project is a “great step forward” in the opening of aviation and avionics projects in India, in a statement released on Twitter. This project was also one of the last that the former chairman had put together while he was in office.
Jean-Brice Dumont, executive vice president (Military Aircraft) at Airbus, said the signing of the contract rolls out an industrial journey. “This is the start of the new chapter which is the first in India,” he said at the briefing. Read More https://theprint.in/defence/india-signs-mega-deal-for-56-airbus-c-295-aircraft-heres-what-lies-ahead/739539/
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