The Gujarat factory would produce the C-295 aircraft in an effort to modernize the IAF fleet.
Digital Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the foundation stone for a C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing plant in Vadodara, Gujarat, on Sunday.
The Defence Ministry announced on Thursday that a collaboration of European defence major Airbus and the Tata group will manufacture C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Vadodara. This is the first time a military jet will be constructed in India by a private enterprise.
The facility will handle aircraft exports as well as additional orders from the IAF. According to Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, the aircraft can also be employed for civilian reasons.
In September of last year, India signed an agreement with Airbus Defence and Space to purchase 56 C-295 aircraft to replace the IAF's ageing Avro-748 jets.
According to the agreement, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in 'fly-away' condition from its final assembly line in Seville, Spain within four years, and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled in India by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) as part of the two companies' industrial partnership.
As said by Kumar, it is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be constructed in India by a private enterprise, with a total cost of Rs 21,935 crore.
Tens of thousands of jobs are anticipated to be generated by the project, which comes at a time when the opposition has been criticising the BJP over the unemployment crisis in front of the 2024 presidential elections.
In the meantime, PM Modi will be in Kevadia on Monday to commemorate Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel's birth anniversary.
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