PM Modi & Spanish PM Pedro inaugurate Tata’s C-295 aircraft factory

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, jointly inaugurated the Tata Advanced Systems Ltd's (TASL) Tata Aircraft Complex at Vadodara, Gujarat, on 28 October 2024. The complex is the final assembly line plant of the C-295 military transport aircraft that India bought from Airbus.

The Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez is on a three-day official visit to India from 27 – 29 October 2024. This is Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's first visit to India, and after 18 years, a Spanish Prime Minister has been visiting India.

India’s first private-sector military transport complex

The Vadododra complex of Tata Advanced Systems Limited is India’s first private-sector assembly line for military aircraft. Until now, military aircraft have been manufactured by the public-sector company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The Tata Advanced Systems Limited will produce 40 C- 295 aircraft in this factory. The factory will handle all work related to aircraft manufacturing, assembly, testing, delivery, and maintenance.

Tata Advanced Systems entered into an agreement with Airbus Defence and Space, Spain, to manufacture and assemble 40 C-295 medium-lift tactical transport aircraft in the country. 

These aircraft will be delivered to the Indian Air Force, and the Tata Advanced system will provide maintenance, repair and operation(MRO) support to the 56 aircraft bought by the Indian Air Force. 

56 C-295 transport plane agreement with Spain 

On 24 September 2021, the Indian government and Airbus Defence and Space, Spain, signed an agreement to procure 56 C-295 medium-lift tactical transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force. The total cost of the deal was Rs 21,935 crore.

Under the agreement,16 aircraft were to be delivered from Spain, while the 40 aircraft were to be assembled in India. 

Airbus entered into an agreement with Tata Advance System Limited to assemble the aircraft in India, and a factory has been established in Vadodara, Gujarat.

The foundation stone of Tata’s Vadodara factory was laid down by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2022.

IAF to be the largest operator of C-295 Fleet

When all 56 aircraft are delivered to the Indian Air Force, it will become the largest operator of C-295 aircraft in the world. 

So far, Airbus has delivered six C-295 aircraft to India, and the seventh is to be delivered by 2024. Airbus is expected to deliver the rest of the aircraft by August 2025.

The first C-295 aircraft from the Tata factory is expected to be rolled out in September 2026, and all 40 aircraft are expected to be delivered to the Indian Air Force by August 2031.

Also Read: Tata launches India’s first private earth observation satellite

https://utkarsh.com/current-affairs/tata-launches-indias-first-private-earth-observation-satellite