India’s first private sector aircraft manufacturing facility and its associated industrial ecosystem are likely to be located in Gujarat’s Dholera Special Investment Region, BW Business world has learnt from informed sources.
Dholera is being developed as a prominent node on the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, approximately 100 km south-west of Ahmedabad.
Airbus will manufacture 40 C-295MW military transport aircraft in India in collaboration with an Indian consortium led by Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) under a $2.8 billion contract signed with India’s Ministry of Defence in September 2021.
This will be the first full-fledged ‘Make in India’ aerospace programme in the private sector, involving the development of a complete industrial ecosystem from manufacturing to assembly, testing and qualification, delivery, and maintenance throughout the aircraft’s life cycle.
A concurrent offsets contract requires Airbus Defence & Space to source equipment and systems from Indian partners worth 30% of the value of the C-295MW contract. The Indian offsets partners’ manufacturing facilities are also likely to be co-located at Dholera.
Besides manufacturing units, the plan for the Aviation Zone includes an aviation academy, flight training institute and MRO facilities for airframes, engines and C&D checks.
“The C295MW programme will see Airbus bring its complete bouquet of world-class aircraft manufacturing and servicing to India in collaboration with our industrial partners, including the Tatas and leading defence public sector units such as Bharat Electronics Ltd. and Bharat Dynamics Ltd, apart from private Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises,” a joint statement issued by Airbus and TASL released after the signing of the contract had added.
This private sector aircraft manufacturing complex has ended Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s long-standing monopoly (HAL).
The Dholera airport will have two runways of 4,000 and 2,910 metres in length, respectively. These would be critical to the Airbus-Tata complex’s flight testing facility.
The Ministry of Defence has issued a No-Objection certificate for the construction of an international airport based on project reports prepared by the Airports Authority of India and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has given its approval in principle.
The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has granted the project environmental clearance.
A 1,426-acre land parcel at Navagam village has been reserved for the Dholera airport, declared an ‘Early Bird Project’ by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation and the Government of Gujarat.
Under the Buy and Make (Global) contract with Airbus, the first lot of 16 C-295MW aircraft will be delivered in a fly-away condition from the Airbus assembly line in Seville, Spain within four years. The subsequent lot of 40 aircraft will be manufactured, assembled and tested at the Indian assembly line.
All 56 aircraft are to be delivered to the Indian Air Force in 10 years. The aircraft will be equipped with an electronic warfare suite developed indigenously in India.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Tata Advanced Systems Limited Sukaran Singh termed the deal as a big moment for the Make in India agenda. “This is a moment of pride for Tatas and a milestone for the Indian military manufacturing ecosystem. For the first time, an Indian private company will be wholly manufacturing an aircraft in India. This endeavour demonstrates Tata Advanced Systems’ capabilities as a defence manufacturer to build globally competitive complex platforms in India,” Singh had stated after the signing of the contract.
CEO of Airbus Defence and Space Michael Schoellhorn said the Indian contract will enlarge the footprint of the C-295 both operationally as well as industrially. “This contract will support the further development of India’s aerospace ecosystem, bringing investment and 15,000 skilled direct jobs and 10,000 indirect positions over the coming 10 years,” he said in a statement.
“After completion of the delivery, the subsequent aircraft manufactured in India can be exported to countries which are cleared by the Government of India,” the Ministry of Defence stated
The C-295MW will replace the IAF’s ageing and obsolete Avro-748 fleet. It is a tactical airlifter weighing 5 to 10 tonnes that can land on short or unprepared airstrips. It has proven capability of airlifting up to 71 troops or 50 paratroopers as well as carrying logistical loads to locations inaccessible to heavier aircraft.
The C-295MW can carry out special missions, disaster relief, maritime patrol duties, and medical evacuations.