Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to officiate the delivery of a military transport aircraft built at the Tata-Airbus assembly line in Vadodara to the Ministry of Defence in the second half of this year, Wouter Van Wersch, President International and executive committee member at Airbus, told reporters at the Singapore Airshow.
The C295 is the first “Made in India” aircraft from the Vadodara facility, a joint venture between Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Airbus. About 70% of the C295’s components are sourced from India, while 30% are imported, including the engines supplied by Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut.
Under the contract with the Defence Ministry, the Vadodara plant is expected to deliver 40 of the 56 aircraft to the Indian Air Force; 16 have already been delivered from Airbus’s Spanish facility. “That’s a big step. All the others will be coming from the India assembly line,” Van Wersch said.
He added that the Vadodara facility may also supply aircraft to regional markets in the future. Van Wersch noted Airbus’s rapid growth in India, calling the country a key centre for engineering and digital work, and said the company’s Bengaluru operation is relocating to a larger campus. He also highlighted Airbus’s expanding ties with India, increased local training, and activities in its Delhi office.
