By Girish Linganna

“Industrial partnership (signed) between TATA and Airbus helicopters for production of H125 helicopters with a significant indigenous and localisation component,” said Indian Foreign Minister Vinay Kwatra at a media briefing on Friday.

The Tata-Airbus partnership for the development of the H-125 helicopter is one of the first forays by a private organization into the untapped aviation sector of India. The deal is a successor to the C-295 fixed-wing transport aircraft deal which has turned out to be a success for all parties involved as this deal bore fruit in September 2023 when 56 of these aircraft were delivered to the Indian Air Force.

The agreement between the two conglomerates was announced to the public during the visit of French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron to India on the occasion of the Indian Republic Day. The deal is to be a part of the agreement to sell defence equipment to friendly nations between India and France, here single-seat helicopters are to be produced for both the domestic markets and for export to neighbouring countries.

The agreement is to entail the development of an FAL (final assembly line) which will be responsible for major component assemblies, avionics, mission systems, flight controls etc. Tata Advanced Systems Limited or TASL have predicted that they will start delivery by 2026, and are confident of this aircraft’s success in the Indian market as this is the best-selling aircraft from Airbus’s civil division. The aircraft is aimed at both the domestic as well as for exports to foreign nations. A place for this FAL to be set up has not been finalized yet.

The H-125 is a reliable aircraft whose Indian production will catalyze the aviation industry in India. The multi-mission workhorse sets itself up to revolutionize all segments that it will be employed in such as disaster management, law enforcement etc. The Ecureuil family from which the H-125 belongs is a dependable airframe, with a staggering 38 million flight hours, therefore the aircraft wouldn’t find it hard to work in hot or high environments.

This was not the only defence deal discussed during this time frame, French defence company Safran is set to provide engines for the Indian fighter jet programmes, similar to when it had provided engines for the ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) and its subsequent variants.

The HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) is the giant of the Indian aerospace scene, it has for long enjoyed the status of being the only player in the Indian aerospace game bagging defence contracts left right and centre. Now with the deal between Tata and Airbus, this supremacy is to be questioned, and issues about the shortcomings of the prior HAL programmes such as the ALH are brought up. HAL has notoriously been lacklustre when it comes to the delivery of aircraft, even when the aircraft are delivered constant grounding of these multi-million dollar machines plague them. This has led to discontent at the end of both the Army and the Air Force alike.

A slurry of news about Air crashes can be found on the internet without too much effort, as per reports in the open sources ex-servicemen and aviation experts point to the bureaucracy within the organization and the negligence on the part of the government.

HAL has stood in solidarity in the Indian market about the helicopter range that they have to offer. This doesn’t mean that there haven’t been any hiccups in its path but what it alludes to is the fact that India and its armed services have never really had a competent alternative. The IAF has waited for HAL to come around but as technology advances at breakneck speeds, it is left yearning for more. In a shorter time frame, the Chinese counterpart to HAL has established itself and improved itself to the point where HAL’s sluggish speed stands in stark contrast to the world and India’s biggest adversary, China. The IAF has seen a sudden drop in squadron strength for fighter aircraft while China expands at an unprecedented rate, adding to the issue is the fact that this trend seems to be continually worsening. Alarm bells have started ringing in the IAF as aircraft all around the Air Force seem to be coming to the end of their life cycles.

The Tata-Airbus partnership then seems to be the glimmer of hope for India as it has the very real possibility of becoming what Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are to America. The position of the HAL is under threat as is evident by the investment in this sector by Tata and the subsequent selection of TASL for defense contracts. Could Tata democratize the defence manufacturing sector for India? Regardless of the outcome of this one deal, one thing that all parties can agree on is the fact that a move like this would bring much-needed competition to the market. Maybe with Tata and Airbus snapping at its heels, HAL will finally fulfil its potential, but if not then the privatization of HAL can not be excluded from the realm of possibilities.