On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved the long-awaited Airbus-Tata project to manufacture 56 C-295 cargo planes to replace the IAF’s ageing Avro-748 planes at a cost of about Rs 21,000 crore (approximately $3 billion).
M/s Airbus Defence and Space (Spain) will deliver 16 of the twin-turboprop C-295MW aircraft in flyaway condition within two years of the contract’s signature, while the remaining 40 will be produced in India by the Tata Consortium within ten years.
This will be the first time an Indian private sector company produces a military aircraft, albeit with technology from a foreign corporation, breaking the virtual monopoly held by defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
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