Form of words:
New Delhi: In a major ‘Make in India’ move, the government on Wednesday approved a long-pending, nearly USD 3 billion deal to buy 56 C-295MW transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The aircraft will replace the old IAF fleet of Avro 748 transport aircraft, which first flew in 1961.
The Cabinet Committee on Security led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the purchase, in which 16 aircraft will be delivered in take-off condition from Spain within 48 months of the signing of the contract.
The remaining 48 aircraft will be manufactured in India by the Tata consortium within 10 years of the signing of the contract.
Incidentally, this is the first defense contract that European firm Airbus has signed with India since the 1960s despite being in the country for more than five decades.
This is also the first project in India in which a military aircraft will be manufactured by a private company.
The cost negotiations were completed six years ago, but the deal was stalled due to financial issues and prioritization of various other projects, including the Rafale deal. However, at this point in time, no price hike has been done by Airbus, which has tied up with Tata for the execution of the project.
In January, it was informed of That the C-295 deal for a multi-role transport aircraft carrying a maximum payload of 9.25 tonnes is likely to be signed this year.
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Promotion of aerospace industry in India
In a statement, the Defense Ministry said that all 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite and the project will boost the aerospace ecosystem in India, with several MSMEs spread across the country involved in manufacturing parts of the aircraft.
in one interview with ThePrint This February, Airbus India’s president and the company’s managing director for South Asia, Remy Maillard, said manufacturing the aircraft domestically “will be the trigger to grow the total aerospace ecosystem in India”.
However, it is not yet clear where the Airbus aircraft will be built, although Tata has set up an aviation hub in Hyderabad.
Since its dimensions are smaller than the IAF’s fleet of C-130Js, C-17s and IL-76s, the C-295 can take off and land at multiple airstrips and airports where larger aircraft cannot.
Before the completion of the delivery, a ‘D’ Level Servicing Facility (MRO) for the C-295MW aircraft is scheduled to be set up in India and the facility is expected to act as a regional MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul). The Defense Ministry said that the hub for various types of C-295 aircraft.
It further said that in addition, Airbus will discharge its offset obligations through direct purchase of eligible products and services from Indian offset partners.
“A large number of detail parts, sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aero structures are about to be manufactured in India. The program will act as a catalyst in job creation in the country’s aerospace ecosystem and is expected to generate 600 highly skilled direct jobs, 3,000 indirect jobs and 3,000 additional medium-skill jobs. Over 42.5 lakh man hours work. within India’s aerospace and defense sector,” the Defense Ministry said.
“This will include development of specialized infrastructure in the form of hangars, buildings, aprons and taxiways. During the manufacturing process in India, it is expected that all Tata Consortium suppliers that will be involved in specialized processes will obtain and maintain the globally recognized National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP) accreditation,” the ministry said. he said.
(Edited by Mansa Mohan)
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