Cabinet Committee on September 8 approved the procurement of fifty-six C-295MW transport aircraft from Spain’s Airbus Defence and Space for the Indian Air Force. 40 aircraft are to be manufactured in India while 16 will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain.
The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence stated that 16 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of the signing of the contract and 40 aircraft will be manufactured in India by TATA Consortium within ten years of signing of the contract.
All 56 aircraft will be installed with an indigenous electronic warfare suite. This is for the very first time that a project of this kind has been approved where a military aircraft will be manufactured in the country by a private firm.
As per the press release, a large number of sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aero-structure are also scheduled to be manufacture in India.
Under this project, 600 highly skilled jobs are expected to be generated with over 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3000 medium-skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man-hours of work within the aerospace and defence sector of India, the ministry opines.
