Vadodara: IAF Transport aircraft manufacturing facility

On October 30, Prime Minister Modi will lay foundation stone for C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Background of the project

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had approved the procurement of 56 C-295 MW transport aircraft from the Spain-based Airbus Defence and Space in September 2021. On the same month, the Defence Ministry signed a contract with the defence company for the acquisition of the aircraft with associated equipment. As part of this contract, 16 aircraft will be delivered in fly-away condition and 40 will be manufactured by an Indian Aircraft Contractor – the Tata Consortium led by TASL. After 56 aircraft are delivered to the IAF, the Airbus Defence and Space will be permitted to sell the aircraft manufactured in India to civil operators and export to countries that are cleared by the Indian Government.

Why is the C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility significant?

• The Vadodara-based C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility will be first-of-its-kind project in which the military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company.
• This project is jointly implemented by European aviation major Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) – the defence arm of the Tata Group.
• The Vadodara facility will take up 96 per cent of the work the Airbus does for each aircraft in its facility in Spain.
• The facility will manufacture 40 C-295 transport aircraft to be used by the Indian Air Force. The first Indian Air Force Squadron of C-295 transport aircraft is set to be based in Vadodara. The aircraft will be delivered to the IAF from 2023 to 2031. The first 16 fly-away aircraft will be received between September 2023 and August 2025. The made-in-India aircraft will be delivered from 2026 onwards.
• All 56 of these aircraft will be equipped with electronic warfare suites manufactured by two state-owned defence undertakings – Bharat Electronics and Bharat Dynamics.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2022

Category: Defence Current Affairs • India Nation & States Current Affairs