Airbus and Tata Group announce new partnership
The announcement was made on January 26 during the two-day visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to India as Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations
In a major boost to ‘Made in India’ an initiative to increase India’s regional connectivity, Airbus Helicopters has announced that it is partnering with the Tata Group to establish a Final Assembly Line (FAL) for helicopters in the country.
The FAL will be the first instance of the private sector setting up a helicopter manufacturing facility in India. Under this partnership, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), a subsidiary of the Tata Group, will set up the facility along with Airbus Helicopters.
The FAL will take 24 months to set up and deliveries of the first ‘Made in India’ H125s are expected to commence in 2026. The location of the FAL will be jointly decided by Airbus and the Tata Group.
The H125 will catalyse the use of helicopters in the country. This multi-mission aircraft will be used on various missions for helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS), disaster management, law enforcement, tourism, and aerial work.
The H125 is agile in operating in high altitude and extreme environments making it a valuable resource for accessing difficult or remote locations.
The proposed helicopter manufacturing facility will be the second FAL to be established in India by Airbus, leveraging TASL’s capabilities in aerospace and defence.