Tata-Airbus project: PM lays foundation stone of Vadodara factory ahead of Gujarat polls

India would become a major producer of transport aircraft including large passenger planes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Sunday, claiming a rapid expansion of the aerospace sector in the next decade.

"The Make in India will become Make for the Globe. In the future large passenger planes will be manufactured in India," Modi said after laying the foundation stone of the Tata Group's military transport facility where a Tata-Airbus consortium would produce C295 aircraft for the IAF to replace its ageing Avro fleet.

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The defence ministry in September 2021 signed a contract with Airbus under which the European aviation major will supply 16 aircraft in fly-away condition between September 2023 and August 2025.

The remaining 40 planes would be manufactured at the Vadodara plant over the next six years at a rate of eight aircraft per year.

Modi said over the next 10-15 years India would be needing more than 2000 passenger and cargo aircraft. "To meet such a large demand, preparations have to start now," he said, urging global aviation majors to consider India as a manufacturing hub.

When operational, the Tata aircraft manufacturing unit, would break the eight-decade-long monopoly of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The Rs 21,935 crore C295 project is expected to generate more than 6,000 direct and indirect jobs.

As a part of the manufacturing process, 13,400 detail parts, 4,600 sub-assemblies and all the seven major component assemblies -outer wings, centre wing box, nose fuselage, centre fuselage, rear fuselage, empennage (tail assembly) and doors would be manufactured in India.

The Vadodara plant would initially roll out Airbus's C295 transport planes for the IAF as a replacement for IAF's ageing Avro fleet.

"The plant will cater to the global demand. Export is one of the opportunities in the not-so-distant future," said N Chandrasekharan, Tata Sons Chairman. Besides India, 34 other countries operate C295. More orders from the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Border Security Force may also come.

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The aircraft is capable to operate from Advanced Landing Grounds and even unprepared runways. The aircraft can carry 71 soldiers or 44 paratroopers with a full load.

The C295 may also be in contention when the IAF decides to replace its transport workhorse AN-32. A decision on the AN-32 replacement will be taken in another five years after IAF gathers some experience on operating the AN32 fleet.

Modi said India set a defence manufacturing target of 25 billion by 2025 which would include an export target of $ 5 billion.

"All 56 aircraft are to be fitted with indigenous electronic warfare suites made by Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited" said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh