Tata-Airbus C295 facility in Vadodara: 5 key things to know about India’s first private military aircraft plant

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), in a joint venture with Airbus, opened a facility in Vadodara, Gujarat on Monday. The factory, India’s first private facility to build military planes, is the Final Assembly Line (FAL) to manufacture the Airbus C295 aircraft, according to Airbus' official statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with the President of Spain, Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, inaugurated the facility. Chairman of Tata Sons N Chandrasekaran and Michael Schoellhorn, chief executive officer of Airbus Defence and Space were also present at the facility on Monday. 

1. Tata-Airbus Partnership

The Vadodara facility is set to participate in a partnership under the “Make in India” project to deliver 56 C295 aircraft to the Indian Air Force. This move is a step towards self-reliance in defence aircraft manufacturing as the country looks to reduce foreign dependence.

The contract states that 40 of the 56 units will be manufactured and assembled in the Vadodara Tata-Airbus facility. The remaining 16 of the 56 units will be delivered to the Indian Air Force in “fly-away” condition from Airbus' final assembly line in Seville, Spain.

To date, six C295 aircraft have been delivered, according to Airbus' official statement. 

2. C295 Delivery Plan

According to the delivery plan, the first C295 will roll out of the Vadodara FAL in September 2026. The plan is to increase the deliveries to 40 aircraft by August 2031 to the IAF, as required by the contract.

“The Tata Group is very proud of setting up this advanced facility, which will manufacture the nation’s first private defence aircraft from the ground up. It will significantly enhance both defence and advance manufacturing capabilities,” said N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons.

The Vadodara facility also aims to create an aerospace industrial ecosystem in the country, according to Michael Schoellhorn, chief executive officer of Airbus Defence and Space.

3. Facility to manufacture crucial parts

The FAL is equipped to integrate the manufacturing of detail parts, related tooling, sub-assemblies, major component assemblies, tools, jigs and testers.

The components for the C295 aircraft are already in production in Airbus' Main Component Assembly (MCA) facility in Hyderabad. The parts for the first aircraft have been shipped to Vadodara FAL, where they will be assembled before being delivered to the Indian Air Force. 

4. India — the largest customer of C295

With this acquisition of the 56 C295 aircraft, India has become the largest customer of the defence carrier. The facility will produce more than 85 per cent of the aircraft structurally in India, along with manufacturing 13,000 detail parts in the country.

For this initiative, 21 special processes have been certified and 37 India-based suppliers, both from the private and public sectors, have been onboarded, as per the company. 

5. India's foreign reliance 

With the launch of this partnership, India aims to boost the nation's capability of defence aircraft manufacturing and to reduce its dependence on foreign assistance.  

India's move aims to expand its industrial capabilities in aircraft assembly, component manufacturing, engineering design and development, MRO support, pilot and maintenance training, and academic collaboration to promote human capital.