Rajnath Singh inaugurates Tata Advanced System Ltd's manufacturing plant in Morocco

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Moroccan counterpart Abdelatif Loudyi

A manufacturing plant set up by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd in Morocco's Berrechid for production of wheeled armoured personnel carriers was inaugurated jointly by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Moroccan counterpart Abdelatif Loudyi on Tuesday.

Spread over 20,000 sq m, the facility is the first-ever Indian defence manufacturing plant in Africa. It is also Morocco's largest such plant.

Under its contract with the government of Morocco, Tata Advanced Systems will undertake the production and delivery of Wheeled Armoured Platform 8x8 (WhAP 8x8) with initial deliveries scheduled to begin next month. The facility became operational three months ahead of schedule, and production has already commenced.

"This milestone marks the first overseas defence manufacturing facility established by a private Indian company, underlining India's capability to design and deliver advanced combat vehicle platforms in partnership with DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation)," Tata Advanced Systems Ltd said.

The WhAP is a modern modular combat platform equipped with advanced mobility, protection and mission adaptability.

In his address at the event, Singh underlined that India's vision of self-reliance is not merely to manufacture for own needs, but to develop capabilities that allows India to become a credible source of advanced technology and high-quality products for the world.

"For India, self-reliance does not mean isolation; rather, we aim to develop strategic autonomy under Aatmanirbharta. We want to develop capabilities that allow us to defend our nation independently while maintaining engagement with global partners," he said.

The defence minister was on a two-day visit to Morocco.

"Along with 'Make in India', we are also pursuing 'Make with Friends' and 'Make for the World'; this facility in Morocco is a shining example of that approach," he underlined.

Singh highlighted that the project is expected to generate significant employment and create a robust local ecosystem of engineers, technicians and suppliers in Morocco.

The facility has generated both direct and indirect employment, developed a robust supplier ecosystem, built critical technology capabilities, and established in-country product support, according to Tata Advanced Systems Ltd.

It also supports dedicated ancillary partners supplying essential subsystems and technologies, the company said.

Sukaran Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, said: "As the first overseas manufacturing facility by a private Indian defence OEM (original equipment maker), it also marks our strategic initiative to begin offering designed-in-India Defence technology systems to friendly countries overseas." "Today's defence factory inauguration near Casablanca in Morocco marks a new chapter in the India-Morocco industrial partnership, and Tata Advanced Systems is proud to be part of this milestone," he said.

The facility will initially cater to the Royal Moroccan Army before expanding to export friendly countries, especially in Africa.