Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez inaugurated a groundbreaking aircraft manufacturing facility in Gujarat’s Vadodara, marking India’s entry into private military aircraft production in collaboration with Airbus.
PM Modi, Spanish PM launches private military aircraft production
The Tata Aircraft Complex, set to commence production in 2026, will manufacture 40 C-295 aircraft, establishing itself as India’s first privately operated military aircraft manufacturing facility.
Here’s what PM Modi said:
“From today, we are giving a new direction to India and Spain’s partnership,” PM Modi said at the inauguration. “This factory will strengthen India-Spain relations… It will also strengthen our ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ mission. This ecosystem will help make the first civil aircraft in the country.”
Here’s what Spanish PM Sanchez said:
Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez emphasized the facility’s broader impact: “This aircraft is a symbol of the Spanish and European aeronautical industry. In addition to contributing to modernising India’s defence capabilities, it will also drive technological development, particularly for the state of Gujarat, India’s leading manufacturing hub. Thousands of direct and indirect jobs will be created here and a new generation of highly qualified engineers and technicians will be trained.”
What is the Tata-Airbus C-295 programme?
The Tata-Airbus C-295 programme encompasses 56 aircraft in total. While Airbus will deliver 16 aircraft directly from Spain, the remaining 40 will be manufactured at the Vadodara facility, which will serve as India’s first private sector Final Assembly Line (FAL) for military aircraft.
The project involves developing a comprehensive ecosystem, including manufacturing, assembly, testing, qualification, delivery, and maintenance throughout the aircraft’s lifecycle. Major defence public sector units like Bharat Electronics and Bharat Dynamics, along with private MSMEs, will contribute to the program.
The inauguration follows PM Modi’s foundation stone laying ceremony in October 2022. Earlier in the day, both leaders participated in a roadshow from the airport to the Tata Advanced Systems Limited campus, greeting citizens along the route. Their schedule includes a bilateral meeting at the historic Laxmi Vilas Palace, organized by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Sanchez, on his first official visit to India, arrived in Vadodara and will continue to Mumbai before returning to Spain.
