The Defence Ministry on Friday signed a Rs 20,000 crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space of Spain and the Tata group to buy 56 C-295 state-of-the-art transport planes for the Indian Air Force.

It is the first project of its kind under which military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company, officials said.

Under the deal, 16 aircraft will be delivered in a flyaway condition by the Airbus Defence and Space of Spain within 48 months of signing the contract.

The remaining 40 planes will be manufactured in India by a consortium of the Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) within 10 years of signing the contract, officials said.

Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata said a signed statement posted on Twitter that the clearance of the joint project “will create a domestic supply chain capability of international standards, which has never been undertaken before. The Tata Group congratulates Airbus and the Indian Defence Ministry for this bold step in fully building this state-of-the-art multi-role aircraft in India in support of the Make-in-India thrust.

The defence ministry has also signed an Offset Contract with Airbus Defence and Space through which Airbus will discharge its offset obligations through direct purchase of eligible products and services from Indian Offset Partners. These contracts were signed following the approval accorded by the Cabinet Committee on Security earlier this month. 

The induction of C-295MW will be a significant step towards modernisation of the transport fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF). It is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro transport aircraft of IAF, the defence ministry said. 

The aircraft is capable of operating from semi-prepared strips and has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para dropping of troops and cargo. The aircraft will give a major boost to the tactical airlift capability of IAF, especially in the Northern and North-Eastern sector and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

All 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite. After completion of the delivery, the subsequent aircraft manufactured in India can be exported to countries which are cleared by the Government of India.

Also read: Indian army getting 118 more new Arjun battle tanks to beef up firepower