The Indian governmenton Wednesday approved the procurement of 56 transport aircraft from the AirbusDefence and Space S.A of which 16 aircraft will be delivered in flyawaycondition from Spain, while the remaining 40 will be manufactured in India.
These 56 C-295MWtransport aircraft of Airbus will replace the ageing Avro aircraft of theIndian Air Force.
The Cabinet Committeeon Security approved the procurement of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft fromAirbus Defence for the Indian Air Force.
The C-295MW aircraftis a transport aircraft of five to 10 tonne capacity with contemporarytechnology. The aircraft has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and paradropping of troops and cargo.
Sixteen aircraft willbe delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of signing of thecontract, and 40 aircraft will be manufactured in India by the TATA Consortiumwithin 10 years of signing of the contract.
"This is thefirst project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured inIndia by a private company," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
All the 56 aircraftwill be installed with indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite.
"The projectwill give a boost to the aerospace ecosystem in India wherein several MSMEsspread over the country will be involved in manufacturing of parts of theaircraft," the ministry said.
The programme willprovide a major boost to the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' mission of the government asit offers a unique opportunity for the Indian private sector to enter into thetechnology intensive and highly competitive aviation industry.
The project willaugment domestic aviation manufacturing, resulting in reduced import dependenceand expected increase in exports.
A large number ofdetail parts, sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aero structureare scheduled to be manufactured in India.
The programme willact as a catalyst in employment generation in the aerospace ecosystem of thecountry and is expected to generate 600 highly skilled jobs directly, over3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3,000 medium skill employmentopportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man hours of work within the aerospaceand defence sector of India.
It will involvedevelopment of TATA Consortium in the form of hangars, buildings,aprons and taxiway.
During the process ofmanufacturing in India, it is expected that all the suppliers of TATAConsortium who will be involved in special processes will gain and maintainglobally recognised National Aerospace and Defence Contractors AccreditationProgramme (NADCAP) accreditation.
"Beforecompletion of deliveries, a 'D' Level servicing facility (MRO) for C-295MWaircraft is scheduled to be setup in India. It is expected that this facilitywill act as a regional MRO hub for various variants of C-295 aircraft,"the ministry said.
In addition, theoriginal equipment manufacturer will also discharge its offset obligationsthrough direct purchase of eligible products and services from Indian offsetpartners, giving further boost to the economy