The cabinet committee on security on Wednesday approved the procurement of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd will jointly execute the project to equip the force with the transport aircraft under the Make in India initiative in the aerospace sector.

Airbus will supply the first 16 aircraft in flyaway condition from Spain within 48 months of signing the contract. The remaining 40 will be manufactured in India by the Tatas within 10 years of signing the contract.

C-295MW aircraft is a transport plane of 5-10-tonne capacity with contemporary technology that will replace the ageing Avro fleet of the IAF. The C-295MW has a rear ramp door for quick reaction and para-dropping of troops and cargo.

“This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. All 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous electronic warfare suite,” the Press Information Bureau, the government’s publicity arm, said in a statement.

“The project will give a boost to the aerospace ecosystem in India wherein several MSMEs spread over the country will be involved in manufacturing parts of the aircraft.”

A large number of detail parts, sub-assemblies and major component assemblies of aero structure is scheduled to be manufactured in India.

“The programme will act as a catalyst in employment generation in the aerospace ecosystem of the country and is expected to generate 600 highly skilled jobs directly, over 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3,000 medium-skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man hours of work,” the PIB statement said.

It will involve development of specialised infrastructure in the form of hangars, buildings, aprons and taxiways, the statement added.