Airbus and Tata inaugurated the final assembly line for the C295 turboprop in Vadodara, India on October 28.
The plan is part of the European manufacturer’s agreement with the Indian government, whose air force ordered 56 tactical transport aircraft in 2021.
Of these, 40 C295s will be assembled at the new facility while the first 16 are manufactured in Seville, Spain.
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In the Indian Air Force (IAF), the C295 replaces the aging Avro 748 turboprops, which were assembled locally by Hindustan Aeronautics.
The Tata Group, one of the largest in the country, is also a partner of Lockheed Martin, producing components for the C-130J.
The inauguration of the assembly line was attended by Prime Ministers Pedro Sanchez of Spain and Narendra Modi of India.
“This new aircraft factory will boost new skills and new industries in India,” said Modi, whose government is implementing an industrialization policy in the aerospace sector.
MTA Program
The Indian Air Force has already received six C295s, the first of which was delivered in September 2023.
The Vadodara plant is expected to complete the first aircraft in 2026.
The Indian Air Force is evaluating a new tactical transport aircraft larger than the C295 under the Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) program.
The plan is to order 40 to 80 aircraft, with Airbus competing for the order with the A400M, Lockheed Martin with the C-130J and Embraer with the C-390 Millennium.
The requirements also include an assembly line in India.
