PM Narendra Modi said C-295 transport aircraft will give more power to the country’s defence forces, even as India will create its identity as a global aviation hub. He said India was fast becoming a big manufacturing hub of the world, which was a boost for the vision of “Make in India, make for the globe”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said India will be requiring over 2000 passengers and cargo aircraft in next 10-15 years, urging aerospace industry to invest in India. Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Airbus-Tata C-295 aircraft manufacturing facility at Vadodara in Gujarat, he said, "India is one of the fastest-developing aviation sectors. We are soon to enter the list of the top 3 nations in terms of air traffic. In the coming 10-15 years, India will require over 2000 passenger and cargo aircraft. This reflects how fast we'll be developing."
He also said: “In the coming years, the Defence and Aerospace sectors will be two important pillars for making India Aatmanirbhar. We have a goal of exceeding $25 billion in defence manufacturing by 2025. Besides, our defence exports would be more than $5 billion.”
Emphasising on the importance of the aircraft, PM Modi said that the transport aircrafts that'll be manufactured will not only give power to our Army but also develop a new ecosystem of manufacturing aircraft. "Soon, India will witness the passenger aircraft that will be made with the tag of 'Make In India'," he added.
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Speaking at the event, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said C-295 aircraft is a direct product of PM Modi's visionary Make In India policy, a policy that has encouraged my company, Airbus, to reimagine the way we do business in India. He said, "On an average, we shall deliver to India over 1 aircraft every week for next 10 years.”
At this facility, the 40 aircraft will be built worth Rs 21,900 crore in a joint venture of European defense and aerospace major Airbus and Indian firm Tata. It will be India’s first transport aircraft manufacturing facility and also to be manufactured by a private company.
In all, this plant will produce more than 13400 detail components, 4600 sub-assemblies, and all seven major component assemblies, including the nose fuselage, outer wings, centre wing box, centre fuselage, rear fuselage, doors, and empennage.
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The facility will also be used for the C-295MW's final assembly tasks, including as system integration and aero system assembly. C-295 is medium tactical transport aircraft of 5-10 ton capacity with contemporary technology. It would have a capacity to carry 71 soldiers or 44 paratroopers or 24 stretchers. It can also carry out short take-off and landing from semi-prepared surfaces.
In 2021, India had inked a deal for 56 C-295MW aircraft with Airbus for Indian Air Force. All these aircraft will be fitted with an Electronic Warfare Suite indigenously developed by Defence Public Sector undertakings —- BEL and BDL.