Explainer: Airbus-Tata C-295 project could do what Suzuki did for automobile sector in India
The Airbus-Tata joint venture to produce the C-295 military aircraft, the first to be made in the private sector in India, is not just about a new set of wings for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The joint venture has the credentials of catalysing the private aviation manufacturing industry akin to what Japanese company Suzuki did in the early 1980’s when it partnered with Maruti to make the first modern passenger car in India. The rest, as they say is history, Maruti-Suzuki now exports made in India cars for the Japanese markets.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez inaugurated the final assembly line of the C-295 in Vadodara, the former did not miss the importance of the event, saying “I hope planes made here would be exported to other countries …. this region could be a major hub of aviation manufacturing in India”. Sanchez on Monday promised ‘full transfer of technology’ indicating greater cooperation.
The project, a ‘turning point’ for the Indian private industry, could alter the dynamics of military and civilian aviation sector. In the past, joint ventures between Indian companies and aviation majors, like Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, have been making small parts and assemblies for global supply chains. However, none made an entire plane or a helicopter in India. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, a Ministry of Defence (MoD) owned company, makes planes and copters.
Operational use of the C-295
At the operational level, the C-295 has multiple usages in the military sector and civilian application. The Airbus lists the usages saying, “it can be tailored for missions”. This can include carrying troops and cargo, maritime patrol, airborne warning systems, surveillance and reconnaissance, collect signals intelligence, provide armed close air support, do medical evacuation, VIP transport and airborne firefighting.
The Airbus said, “It has remarkable short take-off and landing performance from unpaved, soft, and sandy and grass airstrips”. This means troops can be landed at a short notice in forward areas.
Production in India and how it changes the eco-system
The present Airbus-Tata deal is to make 56 planes for the IAF at a cost of Rs 21,935 crore. While 16 planes will come directly in a ‘fly away’ condition from Airbus plant at Seville in Spain. Forty of these planes have to be made in Vadodara. Additionally, the of MoD, in February this year, agreed to a project to get 15 additional C295 planes that would be the maritime surveillance and patrol version. Nine of these are for the Navy and six for the Coast Guard. A contract is yet to be signed.
Airbus delivered the first plane from the lot of 16 in September 2023 and as of today six planes have been delivered. The remaining ten planes will be delivered at the rate of a plane each month till August 2025.
The first plane from the Vadodara facility will roll out in September 2026 and the remaining 39 by August 2031.
Make in India will be a major component for the 40 aircraft. A substantial proportion of C-295 components, sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aero structure are planned to be manufactured in India. Other than the aero engine and avionics, which are sourced by Airbus from others, 13,000 small and big parts needed in the C-295 will be produced in India.
A total of 37 companies have already been identified by Airbus. Of these, 33 are micro, small and medium enterprises. All 56 aircraft – and also the additional 15 – will be equipped with an electronic warfare suite that will be indigenously manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited.
The indigenous content in the first 16 aircraft to be made in India will be 48 per cent. It would increase to 75 per cent in the 24 aircraft to be made in India.
Employment generation
Calculated on the basis of man hour – that is using highly skilled, skilled and semi-skilled labour—that Airbus employs to manufacture an aircraft in Spain, the company will gradually be transferred to India for the making of 40 planes. Initially for the first five planes, 78 per cent of man hours will be allocated to India and will increase to 96 per cent for the remaining 35 aircraft.
The project is expected to generate 600 highly-skilled direct jobs, 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3,000 medium-skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man hours of work within the aerospace and defence sector.
The future may be civil aviation market
A future market for the plane is a use by commercial airliners for short haul flights or to service small airports in the Himalayas – Bhuntar (Kullu), Kangra or Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, Pithoragarh and Harsil in Uttarakhand and Kargil in Ladakh to name a few. There are at least six fully-paved landing strips in Arunachal Pradesh where military planes land. The C-295, with a speed of about 480 km per hour and an endurance of 13 hours, is ideal to push tourism in these areas. Even smaller cities that are connected under ‘Udan’ scheme can be serviced by the C-295.
At present, the popular turbo-prop planes – the C-295 is also a turbo-prop—used by the commercial airliners on short haul routes in India are the ATR-42 and ATR-72. The advantage the C-295 has saving on duties, taxes being made in India and also the ease of maintenance.
Michael Schoellhorn, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus Defence and Space, made a telling remark as he proposed a vote of thanks at the event today.
He said, “Airbus is on a ‘long-haul’ flight in India. We design, build, skill and make in India.”
