Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez inaugurated the Tata-Airbus C295 aircraft plant facility in Gujarat's Vadodara on Monday. The Spanish PM, who is on a three-day visit to India, arrived in Vadodara today only.
One of India's highly ambitious defence projects, Tata Advanced Systems is built in collaboration with Airbus Spain at the TATA Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) campus.
A total of 56 aircraft are there under the C-295 programme, of which 16 are being delivered directly by Airbus from Spain and the remaining 40 are to be made in India.
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In February, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisitions Council approved the initial draft of the project which proposed for 15 more C-295 aircraft, with nine being earmarked for the Navy and six for the Coast Guard.
How the new facility can boost India's defence capabilities
The new manufacturing facility inaugurated by PM Modi and the Spanish PM in Vadodara will give a massive push to India's defence capabilities. The project will involve the full development of a complete ecosystem from the manufacture to assembly, testing, and qualification, to delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft.
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{{/usCountry}}The new manufacturing facility inaugurated by PM Modi and the Spanish PM in Vadodara will give a massive push to India's defence capabilities. The project will involve the full development of a complete ecosystem from the manufacture to assembly, testing, and qualification, to delivery and maintenance of the complete lifecycle of the aircraft.
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{{/usCountry}}The C-295 aircraft will replace IAF's HS-748 Avro fleet and is the first instance of the private sector manufacturing a military aircraft in India, breaking the virtual monopoly of defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics.
Besides Tata, defence public sector majors like Bharat Electronics Ltd. and Bharat Dynamics Ltd., along with private MSMEs, will contribute to creating a comprehensive ecosystem for military aircraft production in India which in turn will contribute to the Indian government's ambition to make India a defence manufacturing hub.
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According to reports, PM Modi will visit the Laxmi Vilas Palace and then proceed to Amreli, where he is set to inaugurate the Bharat Mata Sarovar at 2.45 pm after the inauguration of the facility in Vadodara.
The prime minister will also lay the foundation for development projects valued at over ₹4,800 crore in the district.
(With inputs from agencies)