For the first time a foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Airbus Defence and Space Quality Management System (QMS) has received Quality Management System approval from Indian regulator Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA).
The certificate of approval for the C295 MW QMS is a significant first step of a comprehensive quality assurance roadmap, which has been agreed upon between the DGAQA and Airbus for the C295 ‘Make in India’ programme.
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At a ceremony in Gandhinagar on the sidelines of the ongoing DefExpo, Director General of DGAQA, Sanjay Chawla handed over the approval certificate to Kajetan von Mentzingen, Head of Quality, Airbus Defence and Space.
Kajetan von Mentzingen talking of the approval said that a milestone has been crossed for the C295 MW ‘Make in India’ programme and this certification demonstrates the trust and confidence that the DGAQA has placed in Airbus quality standards.
This will be the foundation for successful aircraft manufacturing of C295 MW in India under the policy of the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat call.
What is C295?
Financial Express Online reported last year in September the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Airbus Defence & Space S. A., Spain, inked a deal to manufacture the C-295 MW in India. These aircraft are expected to replace the legacy Avro transport fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The aircraft will be manufactured in partnership between Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) under the contract with MoD and Airbus at a facility in India.
This is the first ever deal in which the private sector company will manufacture the aircraft locally and this will help in creating India’s industrial ecosystem. This ecosystem is expected to include testing, assembling, manufacturing, and qualification and once established will help in the maintenance of the lifecycle of the machines and will also help in meeting delivery timelines.
There is an offset clause too in this deal. This means that Airbus will be able to discharge its offsets obligations as it will be able to directly purchase eligible products and services from its Indian Offset partners.
Out of that, 56 C295 will come in `fly-away’ condition straight from Airbus assembly line located in Seville, Spain and the balance 40 will be manufactured and assembled at the TASL facility. Once implemented the delivery of the 16 aircraft will be completed in four years.
These aircraft are going to be handed over in transport configuration to IAF and are going to be equipped with an indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite. And have the capability of operating from a semi-prepared air strip. Fitted with contemporary technology these are of 5-10 tonne capacity.
The other industrial partners include Bharat Dynamics (BDL) and Bharat Electronics. Several MSMEs from across the country will also be involved in the building of these aircraft in India.