Adani Group and Italy’s leading aerospace and defense company Leonardo on Tuesday announced a strategic partnership to set up an integrated helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in India. This step is considered important towards strengthening the Make in India initiative as well as increasing India’s self-reliance in helicopter manufacturing.
What is the focus of the manufacturing ecosystem?
Under this partnership, an MoU was signed between Adani Defense and Aerospace and Leonardo at an event organized in the capital Delhi. The focus of the proposed manufacturing ecosystem will be to meet the needs of the Indian Armed Forces, specifically for Leonardo’s advanced AW169M and AW109 TrekkerM military helicopters.
According to the statement issued by the companies, this collaboration will include phased indigenization, development of robust maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities as well as extensive pilot training. This will boost domestic capabilities in the defense sector as well as civil aviation.
What is the status of availability of helicopters in India?
The availability of helicopters in India is still very less. The helicopter density per population in the country is less than 250, while India is estimated to require around 100 new helicopters every year over the next 10 years.
This partnership will meet both civil and defense needs – Jeet Adani
Jeet Adani, Director, Adani Defense and Aerospace, said that this partnership is laying the foundation of an aviation ecosystem that will meet both civil and defense needs. He said that our collaboration with Leonardo is based not just on shared expertise, but on shared purpose. We will create an ecosystem on Indian soil that will integrate manufacturing, assembly, training and world-class support.
Company CEO Ashish Rajvanshi said that the Indian Armed Forces have anticipated a demand for more than 1,000 helicopters in the next decade. This partnership is a major step towards realizing the vision of sovereign defense manufacturing.
India is a big market for Leonardo
Meanwhile, Leonardo Helicopters Managing Director Gian Piero Cutillo said that India is a big and strategic market, where the demand for helicopters for the armed forces is continuously increasing.
Partnership was also signed with Embraer last week
It is noteworthy that this announcement has come at a time when just a week ago Adani Defense and Aerospace had announced a strategic collaboration with Brazilian major Embraer to set up a regional aircraft manufacturing facility in India.
