Tata in partnership with Airbus will manufacture C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force at Vadodara in Gujarat.
Airbus has received the regulatory approval from the Indian regulator for its C295 aircraft programme, becoming the first foreign original equipment maker to get such a nod.
Apart from making 40 aircraft, the facility at Vadodara will be manufacturing additional aircraft for Air Force requirements and exports.
In September 2021, India sealed a nearly Rs 21,000 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure 56 C295 transport aircraft to replace the ageing Avro-748 planes of the IAF under a project that entails manufacturing of military aircraft in India for the first time by a private company.
The regulatory approval for the ambitious programme was accorded by Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA).
Under the agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in fly-away condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain within four years and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.
The Airbus Defence and Space Quality Management System (QMS) for the C295 aircraft has received approval from the DGAQA, the Indian regulatory authority for aeronautical quality assurance.