Airbus may partner Tatas for manufacturing defence transport aircraft

Srinivas_K

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Airbus may partner Tatas for manufacturing defence transport aircraft

NEW DELHI: French aircraft giant Airbus is likely to tie up with the Tatas to manufacture transport planes for the defence sector, sources familiar with the development told TOI.

READ ALSO: Govt steps up reforms, raises FDI limit in defence, opens up railways

The planned partnership is likely to mark the first big-ticket entry after the Narendra Modi government raised the FDI limit in defence production to 49% from 26% to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce outgo of foreign exchange.

The proposed entry of Airbus in partnership with the Tatas puts at rest doubts that were expressed when the sector was opened up. The government had faced criticism for not allowing majority control for foreign partners and there was an apprehension that global majors might stay away.

India Air Force has plans to replace its Avros aircraft, and the Airbus-Tata combine is one among several groups that are expected to bid for the contract. An email sent to a Tata Sons spokesperson did not elicit any response.

Several Indian companies ranging from Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries to the Mahindras and Bharat Forge have entered the defence industry but the Tata Group seems to have taken an early lead in a segment hitherto dominated by imports.

The government has embarked on a "Make in India" campaign to ensure that the country emerges as a global hub for low-cost quality manufacturing; the defence sector is a key element in this strategy.

In August the Union cabinet approved raising the FDI in the sensitive defence sector and opened up railway infrastructure to foreign firms. The cabinet had also decided that FDI beyond 49% would be allowed in state-of-the art defence equipment manufacturing, with technology transfer under Indian control and management.



Technically, this means 100% FDI is allowed, but sources said this has been the position since 2002. As a safeguard, the Cabinet Committee on Security will approve such proposals. Sources also said that FDI up to 24% would be allowed via the automatic route.

Headquartered in Toulouse, Airbus has had close links with India, a key market for planes, for a while now. In 1988, Airbus struck a deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian PSU to manufacture passenger doors for the A320 aircraft. In addition, Airbus India Engineering in Bangalore employs 350 local engineers working in engineering design and innovation activities; the number working directly or indirectly on Airbus programmes has reached some 5,000 Indian jobs, according to the company's website.

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, is the strategic aerospace and defence arm of the Tata group. It has a tie-up with US helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Airbus-may-partner-Tatas-for-manufacturing-defence-transport-aircraft/articleshow/44935927.cms
 

SajeevJino

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Re: Airbus may partner Tatas for manufacturing defence transport aircr

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They Should Move on their Goal and Look for Other Countries too ..The GOI then Automatically contact the Venture to Supply the Systems
 

Ray

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Re: Airbus may partner Tatas for manufacturing defence transport aircr

Three leading industry organizations have recommended the Tata Group to lead the development of a replacement for the Indian Air Force (IAF) Avro HS 748 Medium Transport Aircraft.

In a presentation made to senior IAF officials in July, representatives from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) recommended the nomination of the Tata Group as the Production Agency (PA), under Paragraph 19 of the Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP), to form a consortium for the development and production of the replacement aircraft.

The industry representation recommended the Buy and Make (Indian) route under the DPP to ensure Indian industry would be the prime bidder and recipient of Transfer of Technology. They recommended this over the Buy and Make process, under which only Defense Public Sector Units and Raksha Udyog Ratnas can be nominated as the PA and recipient of technology from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Industry picks Tata to lead IAF Avro successor program | StratPost

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Airbus Military launches improved C 295W for India

Govt to take call on key defence deals worth Rs 70,000 crore
Airbus Military has launched an uprated C 295W medium transport aircraft with winglets and more powerful engines with an eye on the Indian military and civil aviation market.

In official briefings at the recent launch ceremony here, company officials mentioned India more that a dozen times in view of the impending replacement of 56 Avro HS 748 transporters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) while Airbus Military Chairman and CEO Domingo Urena-Raso told India Strategic that he expected the number of selected aircraft in this category to be more than 100.

According to India Strategic's own estimates though, the figure could touch or exceed 200, keeping in mind the growing requirements of the armed forces, paramilitary organizations like the Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), civil operations in India's mountainous Himalayan states, and even the secretive Aviation Research Centre (ARC) of India's external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

The aircraft is to be produced in the private sector, and once the assembly/ production line is set up in the country, new and follow-on orders are easier to get.

Urena-Raso, who can be described as a very pleasant and confident person based on the interaction he had with visiting journalists and this writer, said that Airbus Military was in touch with some Indian companies for the aircraft's production in India as per the IAF's recently-issued Request for Proposals (RfP) – or tender – but gave no details. He pointed out though that a production facility is only about four to five percent of the costing in an aircraft's manufacturing project.

The first C295W – W denoting winglets – was displayed before a group of visiting journalists from worldwide.

Rafael Tentor, Senior Vice President, said that the 90 kilos of winglets and modifications added to the existing C 295 aircraft would enable it to operate in India's hot as well as high Himalayan airfields.

The engines have been given new settings.

Said Tentor: "The aircraft uses the same Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 turboprops engines which power all versions of the C295. The increased power is available from implementing new procedures recently certified by Canada and Spain, permitting operation in the climb and cruise phases at higher power settings at the discretion of the operator. When implemented at higher altitude and hot temperatures, these procedures improve operation over very high terrain such as the Andes (in South America) or Himalaya mountains with only a minor influence on maintenance cost. The winglets were demonstrated in flight-trials which showed positive results for a weight penalty of only around 90kg."

The first production C295W will be available from end-2014. The aircraft can carry troops, equipment, electronic warfare systems or an Airborne Early Warning (AEW) antenna.

Tentor said that over the 2003-12 period, Airbus Military has commanded a 51 percent share of the light and medium aircraft (C 235/ C 295) market with 157 (of the global total of 306) aircraft purchased by about a dozen countries.

Both Urena-Raso and Tentor pointed out that defence budgets in the US and Europe were shrinking and that global arms and aviation firms were increasingly looking to Middle East and Asia, particularly India which has to replace most of its outdated Soviet-vintage equipment.

As for India, IAF's RfP has been sent to eight contenders from Europe, US and Russia. As per the tender, which has to be submitted by October, the Avro replacement aircraft has to be made in India in collaboration with an Indian partner with technology transfer and production arrangements. The global vendors are reportedly in final stages of finalizing their tieups.

Airbus Military's C 295W and Alenia Aeronautica's C 27J Spartan are putting up a tough fight. The latter has engines and configuration similar to Lockheed Martin's C 130J which IAF has acquired (6 + 6 aircraft) and maintenance should be easier with some element of commonality.

The only problem is that Alenia is a Finmeccanica company, which also owns Agusta Westland and IAF's order of 12 VIP AW 101 helicopters from it are under scanner due to allegations of kickbacks emanating from Italy.

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MOD) has also ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry and till it clears Finmeccanica of any wrongdoing, its chances of winning any Indian tender from the Army, Navy or IAF are near impossible.

IAF had acquired the HS 748 Avro from Britain's Hawker Siddeley beginning 1964 onwards. It was later produced by India's HAL.
..:: India Strategic ::. Air Force: Airbus Military launches improved C 295W for India



 

sgarg

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Re: Airbus may partner Tatas for manufacturing defence transport aircr

100% chances of Tata producing C295. This should get sealed in next few months.
This will be a great step for Tata and India as a stepping stone to civil airliner production in India.
 

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