Aero India 2023: TASL aiming to complete C295 factory by 2024

The TASL is increasing its network of manufacturing partners in India to manufacture 40 C295 aircraft by 2031. (Janes/Akhil Kadidal)

Tata Air Systems Limited (TASL) and Airbus Defence and Space are aiming to complete a new factory in India to produce Airbus C295 Persuader transport aircraft by 2024.

Speaking to Janes at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore, TASL said that the factory is expected to produce the first airworthy Indian-made C295 by 2026. The factory, at Vadodara in the Indian state of Gujarat, will serve as a final assembly line (FAL).

The foundation stone for the factory was laid in October 2022. The company said that it expects to produce up to eight C295s annually at the facility. In the meantime, Janes has learnt that TASL is attempting to scale up the capabilities of its domestic manufacturing partners.

As many as 100 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will participate in the manufacturing project, according to a statement by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2022.

These companies are spread across seven Indian states, Modi added at the time. “We will require about five years to build up our network of local suppliers,” a company source said.

This scaling-up is necessary as an aircraft of the complexity, size, and weight of the C295 has not been built in India previously. The project is also expected to benefit TASL's other aircraft projects.

One of these projects is a new twin-engined electronic intelligence (ELINT) aircraft being developed for the Indian military. This project is being built concurrently with the C295 project, Janes was told.

According to TASL, it will also acquire raw materials for the manufacturing of the aircraft from international vendors.

In December 2022, Airbus told Janes