European aviation major Airbus and Tata Group's aerospace arm Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) will set up India's first privately-led Final Assembly Line (FAL) for the H125 helicopters in Karnataka's Kolar, The Economic Times reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The project will be in line with the government's 'Make in India' initiative which aims to build self-reliance in the aerospace industry, the report said. The newly built factory will manufacture Airbus' best-selling H125 helicopter, and will be one among the only four such facilities in the world, the report added citing sources. Three other units are currently present in France, US and Brazil.
Karnataka won the project, beating states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, because of its already existing aerospace manufacturing ecosystem. Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), a key defence player in the space, is based out of the southern state.
The plant will reportedly be set up in the Vemgal Industrial area, nearly two hours away from Bengaluru. Notably, Karnataka government's recently promised subsidies on land and other capital incentives, as well as availability of skilled workforce and expansion potential were few of the reasons why the state was selected for the project, the report said.
The proposed facility will begin operations with a production capacity of 10 helicopters per year, but may expand production strongly over the years, the report said.
Moneycontrol couldn't independently verify the report.
Notably, India's defence exports to around 100 countries have soared 34 times in the past 11 years, from Rs 686 crore in FY14 to Rs 23,622 crore in FY25.
Analysts say India's defence exports should rise at a much higher pace than currently, as the country's equipment are very well integrated with latest technology. In FY25, India’s defence exports surged to a record high of Rs 23,622 crore, up 12 percent from Rs 21,083 crore in FY24.
The defence ministry has set a target for 2029 to increase defence exports to Rs 50,000 crore. "India has evolved from a largely import-dependent military force to the one increasingly focused on self-reliance and indigenous production. In a major boost to defence exports, wide range of items from ammunition, arms, sub-systems/systems and parts & components have been exported to around 80 countries in the just-concluded financial year," a statement by defence ministry said on April 1.
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