As part of the ‘Make in India’ campaign, tata airbus Helicopters and the Tata Group have announced plans to establish a Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Pune for helicopters.
From tata airbus civil range, the FAL will manufacture the best-selling H125 helicopter for India and export it to nearby nations.
With the establishment of the first private sector helicopter manufacturing facility in India, the FAL will greatly strengthen the government’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ program.
As part of this agreement, Airbus Helicopters and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), a Tata Group auxiliary company, will work together to establish the facility.
As part of French President Emmanuel Macron’s two-day visit as the chief guest, this announcement was made on January 26 during the Republic Day celebrations.
The FAL in India will be responsible for major component assembly, mission systems and avionics setup, electrical harness construction, hydraulic circuit construction, flight control, dynamic components, fuel system integration, and engine integration. Additionally, it will test, qualify, and distribute the H125 to clients in the vicinity of India.
It is projected that the first ‘Made in India’ H125 will be delivered in 2026, and that the establishment of FAL will take 24 months. tata airbus and the Tata Group will decide on the location of FAL together.
“Helicopters are crucial for nation-building,” said Guillaume Faury, CEO of tata airbus. In addition to representing a new, confident India, the “Made in India” civil helicopter will also reveal the full potential of the nation’s helicopter market. He went on, “Airbus’s commitment to developing the full range of aerospace capabilities in India is reaffirmed by this helicopter final assembly line, which we built in partnership with our reliable partner tata airbus.
Following the Made in India C295 military aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara, Gujarat, he mentioned, this will be the second final assembly line built by tata airbus in India.
Chairman of Tata Sons N. Chandrasekaran expressed his happiness, saying, “The establishment of India’s first private sector helicopter assembly facility is a source of great satisfaction for the tata airbus.”
In collaboration with tata airbus, this site will house the last assembly line for the best-selling Airbus H125 single-engine helicopter in the world, which is intended for export and Indian markets.
The locally produced H125 in India will encourage the nation to employ helicopters, bringing about revolutionary shifts in the multi-mission workforce and cargo transportation industries. Applications for it will cover important fields like emergency medical services (HEMS), tourism, law enforcement, disaster relief, and aerial work missions.
The H125 will play a major part in India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme, Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN), improving tourism and connectivity in the nation by assisting with last-mile connectivity in remote areas.
Among single-engine helicopters sold worldwide, the H125 outsells other models in its class. With over 38 million flight hours worldwide, this multi-role helicopter is a high-performance member of Airbus’s esteemed Ecureuil family.
Extremely adaptable, the H125 can be set up for a wide range of tasks, such as air ambulance, passenger transport, aerial work, law enforcement, firefighting, and surveillance. It can also function in high-temperature and high-pressure environments.
Being the only helicopter to ever land on Mount Everest, it serves as a testament to its dexterity in extreme weather and altitude.
By utilizing the aerospace and defense capabilities of Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), the proposed helicopter manufacturing facility would be Airbus’ second FAL (Final Assembly Line) to be established in India.
The C295 military transport aircraft FAL is currently being built in Vadodara, Gujarat, by both companies.
The most recent announcement is a part of Airbus’s efforts to create a comprehensive aerospace ecosystem in India, where the company is growing its industrial footprint through partnerships with educational institutions, manufacturing aircraft assembly components, engineering, and digital design, as well as providing MRO (Maintenance Repair and Overhaul) support for pilot and maintenance training.
