Modi, Spain’s Sanchez launch India’s first private military aircraft plant

The Tata Aircraft Complex in Gujarat state will produce Airbus C-295 transport military aircraft in collaboration with Airbus Spain.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez have inaugurated India’s first private military aircraft plant, boosting New Delhi’s ambitions of growing local manufacturing in its defence and aerospace industries.

Sanchez was welcomed to India on Monday with a flower-filled open-top parade alongside Modi, as Madrid seeks to boost investment in the world’s fifth-largest economy.

The duo waved to crowds in a vehicle covered with flowers as they made their way to inaugurate the aircraft factory, a collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus, in Vadodara city of Modi’s home state of Gujarat, where crowds of hundreds cheered and waved banners.

It is the first visit by a Spanish premier to India in 18 years. Modi visited Spain in 2017 and held talks with Sanchez at the G20 summits in 2018 and 2021.

Modi and Sanchez wave to people from a flower-filled vehicle in Vadodara, India [AP]

India’s Ministry of Defence has agreed to a $2.5bn deal for 56 cargo and troop-carrying C-295 aircraft from Airbus Defence and Space in 2021. While 16 will be assembled in Seville in Spain – with the first deliveries made last year – the 40 remaining will be built in India.

The Indian plant in Vadodara will complete the first “Made in India” C-295 aircraft in 2026.

The aircraft is capable of transporting up to 71 soldiers or 50 paratroopers and will be able to access remote locations. It can additionally be used for medical evacuations and aid in disaster response and maritime patrol duties.

“This factory will not only strengthen India-Spain relations, but also the ‘Make in India and Made for the World’ mission,” Modi said at the inauguration. “It also reinforces India’s position as a trusted partner in global aerospace manufacturing.”

Sanchez said Airbus had opened a new chapter in India’s defence and space industry.

“This project strengthens our industrial ties while underlying our country’s deep commitment as a reliable and strategic partner,” he said, speaking in English. “It shows, as well, the capabilities of the Spanish defence industry.”

The chairman of the Tata conglomerate, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, lauded the launch as a historic day for India’s defence sector and credited the late Ratan Tata, the “titan” of Indian business and former chairman who died earlier this month, for conceiving the idea more than a decade ago.

Spain, the 16th-largest foreign investor in India with more than 280 Spanish companies in the country, sees opportunities including in construction, pharmacy, energy, and the railways industry.

India says trade between the two nations is “robust and growing”, totalling $9.9bn in 2023, with India exporting $7.17bn and importing $2.74bn.

On Tuesday, Sanchez will travel to Mumbai, India’s financial capital and home to Bollywood, to meet trade and industry leaders, and will also visit film studios to grow collaboration between the Indian and Spanish entertainment industries.