Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived in Gujarat’s Vadodara and inaugurated the Tata-Airbus aircraft facility, India’s first and only private aircraft assembly. He was accompanied by Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez during the event.
It is a significant milestone in India’s aerospace industry as it will push the private production ecosystem of such a crucial sector in the country. The facility, located at Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), will manufacture 40 Airbus C-295 aircraft.
Notably, in September 2021, India signed a Rs 21,935 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure 56 C-295 aircraft to replace the IAF’s aging Avro-748 planes, which entered service in the early 1960s.
But there was a catch as under this agreement, Airbus was to deliver 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition and manufacture the rest 40 in India under the ‘Make in India’ scheme.
Make in India in action
The production, under the agreement, was to be undertaken at TASL as part of the industrial partnership between the two countries. The latest facility is in line with that agreement.
This must also be noted that India has been pushing for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. Despite being a military power, India was the biggest importer till now, but the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India are driving a new change. The setup of this C-295 facility is a testament to that change.
Mitigating the risk of foreign dependence is a need of the time, especially when India is on the rise to become a developed country and a superpower in a multipolar world. Augmenting capabilities is an unavoidable condition for that. Given that, the C-295 aircraft is considered an undisputed dominator in this segment.
The aircraft, classified as tactical airlifter, will replace Russian Antonon AN-32 and UK’s Hawker Siddeley HS 748 and will strengthen the fleet along with already serving German Dornier Do 228 and US’s Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules.
Augmenting defence capabilities
The aircraft comes with a special feature of short take-off and landing from a semi-prepared surface. It needs only a 2,200 m runway to take off smoothly. With a rear ramp, the aircraft is capable of directly offloading cargo. It also can carry more cargo than its competitor aircraft.
C-295 can carry up to nine tons of cargo or 71 soldiers or 48 paratroopers. Its induction into the Air Force fleet will enhance the readiness and operational flexibility of the IAF.
The aircraft is significant for the airdrop or airlift of troops, and cargo while in mission mode. Also, it can be of pertinent use during civil evacuation in rescue missions.
The hefty craft can glide at a low speed of 110 knots at short heights during low-lying tactical missions.
The aircraft has so far successfully conducted operations in the mountains of Columbia, the deserts of the Middle East, the jungles of Brazil, and the cold climate of Poland and Finland.
Employment and asset generation
Additionally, the Make in India project is crucial for employment generation in the country. According to reports, the collaboration between TATA and Airbus will create around 3,000 job opportunities at various sites and will support over 15,000 indirect jobs across the entire supply chain.
This must also be noted here that so far the major defence manufacturing firms have been located in the southern part of India. Installing a new facility in Vadodara will clearly diversify the production and include more people in the aerospace industry from various other regions.
With the C-295 facility, Indians will not only get new employment opportunities but also quality employment opportunities, an experience that will prove to be an asset for the nation in the future.
The aircraft facility will bolster India’s defence capabilities on one hand and will help India to match the global level of military-grade manufacturing on the other.
As they say, if you have to go long, take small steps and move on. With these types of steps, it is not far away when India will develop one of the best defence production capabilities and will export the decisive equipment for war and peace efforts.