Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems Limited have launched a final assembly line facility in Vadodara, Gujarat, to support the local production of India’s future C295 military transport fleet.
The center’s inauguration followed New Delhi’s acquisition of 56 C-295s from Airbus in September 2021 to replace the Indian Air Force’s Avro Hawker Siddeley 748 airliners produced in the 1960s.
It will incorporate major component assemblies, sub-assemblies, detail parts, tooling, jigs, and testers to complete the system’s airframe.
Airbus noted that the South Asian country’s C295 program will be facilitated under the government’s “Make in India” domestic industrial base support policy, making the production of 40 planes to be set in Gujarat and the remainder at Airbus’ factory in Seville, Spain.
To date, the initiative has handed over six of the platforms to the Indian Air Force.
Meanwhile, parts of the first C295 to be manufactured in India have already been shipped to the Gujarat complex.
“The inauguration of this final assembly line (FAL) is a significant milestone in India’s journey towards self-reliance in defence manufacturing,” Airbus Defence and Space CEO Michael Schoellhorn remarked at the event.
“The C295 India programme demonstrates Airbus’ commitment to supporting India’s vision of ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ in defence manufacturing.”
“Aligned to this vision, this FAL will propel the advancement of the aerospace industrial ecosystem in the country, unlocking the potential for cutting-edge design, component manufacturing, aircraft assembly and services capabilities across the Indian value chain.”
The C295 Aircraft
Airbus’ C295 is a 24-meter (79 feet) system with a wingspan of 26 meters (85 feet). It can carry more than 70 passengers and payloads up to 9,250 kilograms (20,393 pounds).
It is fitted with two Part & Whitney PW127G turboprop engines with 2,644 horsepower each, a six-bladed Hamilton Sundstrand propeller, six hardpoints, and a Honeywell weather radar.
The C295 has a maximum speed of 482 kilometers (300 miles) per hour, a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles), and a service ceiling of 9,145 meters (30,000 feet).