Indian and Spanish leaders inaugurate India's first private military aircraft facility

Tuesday, October 29, 2024 

On October 28, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez jointly inaugurated the C-295 military aircraft facility at Vadodara in the Indian state of Gujarat.

India's PM Narendra Modi and Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez on a prototype demonstration of Tata-Airbus C-295 in Gujarat, India.
Image: Prime Minister's Office (India).

This facility is India’s first private-sector Final Assembly Line (FAL) for manufacturing military aircraft in the country. It is jointly tied by Airbus SE and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), located on the latter's campus.

A total of 56 aircraft will be manufactured under the C-295 project, of which sixteen will be assembled in Seville, Spain and delivered by 2026 and the remaining 40 will be made in India by the end of 2031.

India signed the nearly INR21,000 crore (US$2.5 billion) deal with Airbus SE in 2021 to replace the ageing Hawker Siddeley HS-748 Avro planes used by Indian Air Force.

Prime Minister Sanchez came to India on a three-day visit, the first visit by a Spanish premier to India, since 2006. According to the Associated Press,, he planned to also visit Mumbai to meet key industry leaders and film studios to enhance collaboration between the Indian and Spanish entertainment sectors.

Sources

• "Modi, Spain’s Sanchez launch India’s first private military aircraft plant" — Al Jazeera, October 28, 2024
• Ajit Solanki. "The leaders of India and Spain launch India’s first private military aircraft plant" — Associated Press, October 28, 2024
• "Spain's PM launches India's first military aircraft plant" — Deutsche Welle, October 28, 2024
• "PM Modi inaugurates Tata-Airbus factory, will boost India's defence capabilities" — Hindustan Times, October 28, 2024