India unveils its first private military aircraft manufacturing hub

The Tata Aircraft Complex will produce Airbus C-295 military transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force in collaboration with Airbus Spain

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A model of an Airbus C-295 military transport plane is exhibited at the Singapore Airshow in 2012. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:30pm, 28 Oct 2024Updated: 3:32pm, 28 Oct 2024

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez inaugurated India’s first private military aircraft plant on Monday, boosting New Delhi’s ambitions of growing local manufacturing in its defence and aerospace industries.

Sanchez was welcomed to the country with a roadshow in Gujarat state’s Vadodara city where hundreds of people cheered and waved banners.

The two leaders then launched the Tata Aircraft Complex, the manufacturing hub which will produce the Airbus C-295 military transport aircraft in collaboration with Airbus Spain and to be deployed by the Indian Air Force.

Sanchez said the project was a triumph of Modi’s vision “to turn India into an industrial powerhouse and a magnet for investment and business-to-business collaboration”.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez wave to onlookers from a vehicle in Vadodara, India, on Monday. Photo: AP

“This partnership between Airbus and Tata will contribute to the progress of the Indian aerospace industry and will open new doors for the arrival of other European companies,” he added.

“This new aircraft factory will boost new skills and new industries in India,” Modi said, adding that the country was now supplying parts to the world’s leading aircraft companies.