Airbus India line to meet regional demand; first helicopter by 2027: CEO

New Delhi: Global aviation giant Airbus is looking to address regional needs with its new helicopter production line in India and sees a sizeable market for more than 1,000 choppers just for the civilian sector, besides large requirements of the armed forces.

In an interview with ET, Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even said the partnership with Tata to set up a final assembly line in India is part of a commitment by the European consortium to bring in technology and expertise, and the plan is to not only have manufacturing locally but also invest in training and maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities. The first helicopter from the new line is expected to be ready by early 2027.

"The idea, objective and ambition is to address the market in the region for the civil and military market. If there are military customers interested and willing to select H 125 for their mission, there is no reason why we should not be able to produce this military helicopter to our customer in the region, from India," Even said.


He was speaking after the virtual inauguration of a new Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) production facility by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. Airbus is investing close to ₹1,000 crore in the new facility.

Airbus sees a market for at least 500 of the H 125 choppers to be made at the Veragal, Karnataka facility in the next 20 years. The bigger opportunity, however, lies in the military sector, where Airbus is pitching itself strongly for an upcoming Army order. The H 125 is already being operated by the Army on a lease basis and has shown its performance at forward areas in the Northern Command.

"We see a huge requirement from the armed forces, and we consider that H 125 is a perfect helicopter to address their needs for critical missions in high mountain areas where they need a high level of performance...," he said.