Flying high

Tata-Airbus venture a big boost to indigenous defence production

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In a path-breaking milestone for India's aerospace and defence (A&D) industry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Spanish President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón inaugurated on Monday the Final Assembly Line (FAL) complex, which will build Airbus C-295 tactical transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Vadodara, Gujarat. This is the first time India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has entrusted a private firm to carry out the entire final assembly of a military aircraft.

The defence vertical of the Tata group, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), is partnering Airbus Defence and Space in this pioneering "Make in India" project. It is slated to initially deliver 16 C-295 aircraft, fully built in Seville, Spain, followed by the assembly of 40 more at the Vadodara facility. The first Made-in-India aircraft is expected in September 2026.