PM to lay foundation stone of C-295MW transport aircraft manufacturing project for IAF at Vadodara on Oct 30, 2022.

October 28, 2022

Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of a C-295MW transport aircraft manufacturing project for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Vadodara in Gujarat on the 30th of this month.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel and other dignitaries will attend the function.
Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar said, this transport aircraft manufacturing project will create an entirely new ecosystem for the aviation sector in the country.
He said, this facility will enhance India’s overall position in transport aircraft manufacturing. Terming this a big step towards ease of doing business to promote Make in India, he said, several steps have been taken in the direction of self-reliance in the defence sector.
He said, this state-of-the-art transport aircraft of 5 to 10 tons capacity is going to be manufactured for the first time in the country.
This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. The aircraft will strengthen the logistic capabilities of the IAF.
16 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition and 40 will be manufactured in India by the Indian Aircraft Contractor, TATA Consortium of Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Tata Consultancy Services.
In September 2021, Cabinet Committee on Security had approved the procurement of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft from Airbus Defence and Space S.A. The first 16 fly-away aircraft are scheduled to be received between September 2023 and August 2025.
The first Made in India aircraft is expected in September 2026. The total cost of the project will be 21 thousand 935 crore rupees. The aircraft can be used for civilian purposes also.
All 56 aircraft will be fitted with an Electronic Warfare suite supplied by Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited,
The transport facility will generate several skilled and indirect jobs.
It is estimated that 600 highly skilled jobs and more than three thousand indirect jobs will be generated with this initiative. Nearly 240 engineers will be trained at the Airbus facility in Spain.