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In a push to the “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”, the Cabinet Committee on Security has approved the procurement of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft, from which 40 aircraft will be manufactured in India by Tata Consortium within 10 years of signing of the contract.
The transport aircraft will be procured from Airbus Defence and Space SA, Spain for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
C-295MW aircraft is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of IAF. The aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para dropping of troops and cargo.
In addition, the OEM will also discharge its offset obligations through direct purchase of eligible products and Services from Indian Offset Partners giving further boost to economy.
First of its kind project
Sixteen aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of signing of the contract, the government said in a statement. “This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. All 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite,” it said.
The project will give a boost to aerospace ecosystem in India wherein several medium small and micro enterprises (MSMEs) spread over the country will be involved in manufacturing of parts of the aircraft. A large number of detail parts, sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aero structure are scheduled to be manufactured in India.
Employment generation
The programme will act as a catalyst in employment generation in the aerospace ecosystem of the country and 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 of India, it said.
It will involve development of specialised infrastructure in form of hangars, buildings, aprons and taxiway.
During the process of manufacturing in India, it is expected that all the suppliers of Tata Consortium who will be involved in special processes will gain and maintain globally recognised National Aerospace and Defence Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP) accreditation, it added.
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