India to procure 15 more C-295 aircraft; 12 to be built at home

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will jointly inaugurate the Tata Aircraft Complex at Vadodara on Monday. The facility will manufacture the C-295 aircraft.

India is looking to procure 15 additional C-295 transport aircraft from Airbus, beyond the 56 already contracted, of which 12 would be manufactured in India by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), while three would come in fly-away condition, according to official sources.

On Monday (October 28, 2024), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will jointly inaugurate the Tata Aircraft Complex at Vadodara which will manufacture the C-295. “This facility will be the first private sector final assembly line (FAL) for military aircraft in India. 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,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Saturday.

Also read: Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez arrives in Vadodara for India visit 

“We may get three of 15 aircraft in fly-away condition given the urgent requirement. We are demanding TASL to increase the indigenisation level in the 12 aircraft to 78%,” an official source said. The 15 aircraft are for the maritime reconnaissance role being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

The Defence Ministry had signed a ₹21,935-crore contract with Airbus Defence and Space SA, Spain, in September 2021 for the supply of 56 aircraft. Of these, 16 will come in fly-away condition from Spain and 40 will be built in India by TASL in collaboration with Airbus at the FAL in Vadodara.

“The FAL was set in a record time of just two years. For 40 aircraft to be made in India by TASL, a substantial proportion of C-295 components, sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aero structure are planned to be manufactured in India,” a source said.

As on date, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has already inducted six aircraft in its 11 Squadron based at Vadodara, the source stated. The first C-295 aircraft was delivered in September 2023 and the last of the 16 flyaway aircraft will be delivered by August 2025.

Of the 40 aircraft, the first C-295 will roll out of the Vadodara facility in September 2026 and the remaining 39 by August 2031. It is meant to replace the legacy HS-748 Avro aircraft in service with IAF. A full mission simulator has already been installed at the Agra air force station.

In terms of indigenous content, the value addition by TASL will gradually increase from 48% in the first 16 of the 40 aircraft to 75% in the remaining 24, sources said.

Other than the aero engine and avionics, which are sourced by Airbus from other original equipment manufacturers, the other structural parts will mostly be made in India, sources said. “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 these 33 are Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises,” a source said.

There has been significant progress in domestic manufacturing part of the contract. The certificate of approval for the main component assembly facility in Hyderabad was given in February 2024.

In terms of employment generation, sources said a 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 jobs directly, over 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, the source stated.

All 56 aircraft will be equipped with an Electronic Warfare Suite that will be indigenously manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited. The C-295 is a versatile, new-generation tactical airlift aircraft with a payload capacity of 9.5 tonnes and is specialised in air transport missions, under all types of weather conditions both during day and night.

Published - October 27, 2024 11:36 pm IST