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In News
- Recently, the Prime Minister of India laid the foundation stone for the C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara, Gujarat.
About
- Set up by: Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL).
- This is the first time a private sector company would be manufacturing a full aircraft in the country.
- This is a huge step forward for India in the global aircraft manufacturing domain.
C-295MW Transporter
- About:
- The C295 was originally produced by a Spanish aircraft manufacturer named Construccionaes Aeronauticcas SA.
- This company is now part of Airbus and the aircraft’s manufacturing takes place at Airbus’s plant in Spain.
- Capacity:
- The C-295MW is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity.
- Request For Proposal (RFP):
- It was issued to global firms in May 2013 and the sole bid by Airbus and TASL was approved by the Defence Acquisition Council in May 2015.
- Agreement:
- In September 2021, India signed a Rs 21,935 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure 56 C295 aircraft to replace the IAF’s ageing Avro-748 planes, which entered service in the early 1960s.
- Delivery:
- Of the 56 aircraft contracted, 16 will come in fly-away condition from Spain between September 2023 and August 2025.
- The remaining 40 will be manufactured here to be delivered between September 2026 and 2031 at the rate of eight aircraft per year.
- Training and skilling:
- Nearly 240 engineers will be trained at the Airbus facility in Spain for the project, the MoD said.
- Feature:
- The C-295 has very good fuel efficiency.
- It can take off and land from short as well as unprepared runways.
- India’s Image:
- With the procurement of these aircraft, India has become the 35th C-295 operator worldwide.
- With 285 aircraft ordered and 38 operators in 34 different countries, the aircraft has achieved more than 5,00,000 flight hours.
- The Navy and the Coast Guard have also expressed interest in the C-295 and it can be used in civilian roles as well as exported in the future.
- The C-295 is also a potential replacement for the AN-32 aircraft, the workhorse of the IAF with over 100 of them in service.
- The AN-32s will be in service upto 2032 and beyond.
Effect on the domestic aircraft manufacturing ecosystem
- Background:
- Over the last two decades, Indian companies, both public and private, have steadily expanded their footprint in the global supply chains of major defence and aerospace manufacturers supplying a range of components, systems and sub-systems.
- Good force :
- As U.S. and India pursue the Indo-Pacific strategy, India’s strengths coupled with U.S. and European technology prowess can be a force for good in the world
- Manufacturing boost :
- The domestic defence manufacturing ecosystem will get a boost with the C-295 project as it will lead to the development of a strong private industrial aerospace ecosystem not only in and around Vadodara but across the country.
- Bengaluru and Hyderabad already have developed such aerospace and defence domains over the years.
- Skilled jobs created:
- The C-295 project is expected to create more than 15,000 skilled direct and indirect jobs across the aerospace ecosystem, with more than 125 suppliers qualified on global quality standards across India.
- Assembly and production functions:
- Manufacturing of over 13,400 detail parts, 4,600 sub-assemblies and all the seven major component assemblies will be undertaken in India, along with tools, jigs and testers, Tata said.
India’s Civil Aviation Sector
- India has a much bigger footprint in civil aviation manufacturing than defence, in addition to being a major market itself. Both Airbus and Boeing do significant sourcing from India for their civil programmes.
- According to Airbus every commercial aircraft manufactured by them today is partly designed and made in India.
- Since 2007, Airbus has had a wholly domestic-owned design centre in India which has more than 650 engineers who specialise in high-tech aeronautical engineering and work across both fixed- and rotary-wing Airbus aircraft programmes.
- Another major growing area is Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) for which India can emerge as the regional hub.
Way Ahead
- The private defence sector is still nascent and a conducive and stable regulatory and policy environment will be an important enabler.
- With the right momentum, a realistic roadmap and enabling policy framework, India can become a hub for aircraft manufacturing akin to the automobile clusters which turned India into a major exporter of cars to the world..
- India is moving ahead with the mantra of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for the Globe’, and continues to enhance its potential by becoming a major manufacturer of transport planes.
Source: TH
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