PM Modi, Spanish counterpart Sanchez inaugurate Airbus C295 plant in Vadodara

New Delhi, Oct 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez jointly inaugurated the TATA Aircraft Complex for manufacturing of C-295 aircraft at TATA advanced systems limited (TASL) Campus in Vadodara, Gujarat on October 28, 2024.

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister remarked that it is the Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez’s first visit to India and the partnership between the two countries is finding a new direction today. Noting the inauguration of the TATA Aircraft Complex for manufacturing C-295 aircraft, the Prime Minister said that it would not only strengthen the relations between the two nations, but also give momentum to the mission of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’. PM Modi conveyed his best wishes to the entire team of Airbus and TATA on the occasion. The Prime Minister also paid his tributes to Late Shri Ratan Tata ji.

The Prime Minister underlined that the factory of C-295 aircraft is a reflection of the new work culture of New India and said that India’s speed from idea to the execution of any project in the country can be witnessed here. Recalling the foundation stone laying of the factory in October 2022, the Prime Minister said that the facility is now ready for production of C-295 aircraft. Emphasizing the focus on eliminating unaccounted delays in the planning and execution of projects, the Prime Minister recalled the setting up of Bombardier Train Coach manufacturing facility in Vadodara as the Chief Minister of Gujarat and said that factory was ready in record time for production. “Metro Coaches made in this factory are being exported to other nations today”, he added. PM Modi expressed confidence that the aircraft made in today’s inaugurated facility would also be exported.

Quoting the famous Spanish poet Antonio Machado, the Prime Minister remarked that as we start treading towards the goal, the path towards the goal is created automatically. Noting that India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem was scaling new peaks today, Shri Modi said that if concrete steps were not taken 10 years ago then it would have been impossible to reach this destination today. He added that a decade ago, the priority and identity of defence manufacturing were about import and none could imagine that defence manufacturing could take place on such a large scale in India. The Prime Minister remarked that the Government decided to walk on a new path, set new goals for India, whose results are evident today.

The Prime Minister said that India’s transformation of the defence sector exemplifies how a right plan and partnership can turn possibilities into prosperity. He underlined that strategic decisions have spurred the growth of a vibrant defence industry in India over the last decade.

“We expanded private sector participation in defence manufacturing, made public sector units more efficient, restructured ordnance factories into seven major companies, and empowered DRDO and HAL”, said Shri Modi. He said establishing defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu infused new energy into the sector. Touching upon Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme, the Prime Minister said that it has driven the growth of around 1,000 defence start-ups in the past five to six years. He informed that India’s defence exports have increased 30 times over the past decade, with the country now exporting equipment to over 100 countries.

The Prime Minister underlined that he was looking at today's program beyond the manufacturing of transport aircraft. Highlighting the unprecedented growth and transformation of India's aviation sector in the last decade, Shri Modi remarked that India was providing air connectivity to hundreds of small cities in the country, while simultaneously working to make India a hub of aviation and MRO domain. He added that this ecosystem will also pave the way for Made in India civil aircraft in the future. Noting that various Indian airlines have ordered 1,200 new aircraft, Shri Modi said that this only meant the newly inaugurated factory will play a major role from designing to manufacturing civil aircraft to meet the needs of India and the world in the future.

Noting that Vadodara City was a stronghold of MSMEs, PM Modi remarked that the city will act as a catalyst in these efforts of India. He added that the city also had a Gatishakti University, which was preparing professionals for different sectors of India. The Prime Minister also noted that there were many companies related to many sectors like the pharma sector, Engineering and Heavy Machinery, Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Power and Energy Equipment in Vadodara. He added that now this entire region was also going to be a major hub of aviation manufacturing in India.

Concluding the address, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that today's event will inspire many new joint collaboration projects between India and Spain. He extended an invitation to the Spanish industry and innovators and encouraged them to come to India and become partners in the country's development journey.

Governor of Gujarat Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishakar were among those present on the occasion.

Earlier, in a post on X, Raksha Mantri termed the inauguration as a special day for the Indian aerospace industry. “The C-295 project is a huge accomplishment for the Indian private industry as it is the first project of its kind in which a complete military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. The project will give a big boost to India’s growing aerospace ecosystem,” he wrote.

Background

In September 2021, Ministry of Defence had signed a Rs 21,935-crore contract with Airbus Defence and Space SA, Spain for supply of 56 aircraft - 16 to be brought in fly away condition from Spain and 40 to be built in India by TASL.

Delivery

Of the 16 aircraft, six have already been inducted into IAF at 11 Sqn based at Vadodara. The last would be delivered by August 2025. The first Made-in-India C-295 is expected to be rolled out of the Final Assembly Line facility at Vadodara by September 2026 and the remaining by August 2031. Along with the aircraft, a Full Mission Simulator has also been installed at IAF's Agra station.

FAL facility

TASL is responsible for making 40 aircraft in India. This facility becomes the first private sector Final Assembly Line (FAL) for military aircraft in the country. It will involve the full development of a complete ecosystem from the manufacture to assembly, test and qualification, to delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft.

This facility has been built in less than two years. The Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone of C-295 aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara in October 2022. The pre-FAL production will start from December 2024 and the FAL assembly will start from October 2025.

‘Make in India’

For the 40 aircraft to be made in India, a substantial proportion of C-295 components, sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aero structure are planned to be manufactured in India. Of 14,000 detailed parts used in one aircraft, 13,000 would be made in India from raw material. A total of 37 companies have already been identified by Airbus, of which 33 are MSMEs.

The indigenous content in the first 16 aircraft will be 48%, and it would increase to 75% in the 24 aircraft to be made in India. All 56 aircraft will be equipped with an Electronic Warfare Suite that will be indigenously manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited.

Employment Generation

Number of man hours that Airbus employs to manufacture an aircraft in Spain will be gradually transferred to India. Initially, it will be 78% for first five aircraft, which will increase to 96% for remaining 35 aircraft.

The project is expected to generate 600 highly-skilled direct jobs, 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3,000 medium-skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man-hours of work within the aerospace and defence sector.

Significance of C-295

The C-295 is new generation transport aircraft used for airlift operations. It has modern technology & avionics and is perhaps the best current type in its class, with a payload of 9.5T. This aircraft is being inducted into IAF to replace the HS 748 Avro.

The C-295 project is a huge accomplishment for the Indian private industry as it is the first project of its kind in which a complete military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. It will provide a boost to the aerospace ecosystem in the country.

Exhibition

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez also took a walkthrough of the exhibition showcased on the occasion. DRDO is showcasing its latest range of maritime surveillance systems, namely the Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMMA) for the Indian Coast Guard and Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft for the Indian Navy at the exhibition organised as part of the event. MMMA and MRMR are special mission aircraft designed & developed by Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), DRDO with state-of-the-art advanced sensors and communication suite from various DRDO labs.

MMMA and MRMR is based on modified C-295 and has three-way collaboration between CABS, DRDO as the nodal agency for Design & Development of mission aircraft and mission systems, Airbus Defence and Space for aircraft modification and certification and TASL for manufacturing the modified aircraft in India. This entails 15 additional C-295 to be manufactured in blue aircraft configuration, in addition to the 56 aircraft ordered by IAF. This collaboration is a classic example of design in India by DRDO and make in India by Indian Industry leading to Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

DRDO is also showcasing the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) MkII for IAF which embodies India-Spain collaboration. CABS, DRDO is the nodal agency for design and development of the mission aircraft and Airbus will modify the A321 platform based on the requirements projected by CABS for the AEW&C MkII. All the three programmes will involve synergistic participation from Indian R&D, Academia, Airworthiness Authorities, Services and Indian Industries.