Airbus H125 assembly line opens in India

A new Airbus final assembly line set up in India could also produce the H125M military helicopter. (Airbus)

With the launch of a new rotary-wing final assembly line (FAL) in the Indian state of Karnataka, Airbus Helicopters and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) are positioning the H125 single-engine light utility helicopter (LUH) as a high-altitude-capable combat platform for the Indian Armed Forces.

French and Indian government officials inaugurated the facility on 17 February on the sidelines of the 6th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue in Bangalore, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. The FAL is located at Vemagal, 50 km northeast of Bangalore.

While the FAL is focused on the production of the baseline H125 for the civil aviation market, Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, said the facility “will also be able to produce the military version H125M with a level of local manufacturing that ensures the Indian forces remain mission-ready at all times”.

According to Airbus, TASL will “undertake the manufacturing, integration, testing, and maintenance” of the rotary-wing platform at the facility.

Agreements

During the defence dialogue, French and Indian officials renewed a 10-year defence co-operation agreement and discussed “other priority areas for the co-development and co-production” of military equipment, according to the MoD.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Safran Electronics & Defense also signed a joint venture (JV)-related memorandum of understanding (MoU) to manufacture the Armement Air‐Sol Modulaire (AASM) Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (Hammer) smart precision-guided air-to-ground weapon.

The two companies first announced a plan to create a JV during Aero India 2025. Janes previously reported that BEL aims to manufacture, customise, and sell the system under the JV.