Mahindra Group and Airbus to manufacture helicopters in India

Airbus Helicopters, a division of Airbus Group, has joined hands with Mahindra Defence, a subsidiary of Mahindra Group, to produce helicopters in India in order to meet the country’s military requirements. Airbus and Mahindra Group on July 2, 2015 announced that the two companies will set up a joint venture company in the coming months and will aim to become the first private Indian helicopter manufacturer under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
 
“The strengths of both the companies will ensure a strong partnership to present the best rotorcraft solutions for India’s needs and strengthen indigenous industrial capabilities. The teaming represents a significant step forward in the country’s ‘Make in India’ ambition,” two companies said in a press release.
 
Guillaume Faury, President & CEO, Airbus Helicopters, commented, “The tie-up is in line with our intent to develop an indigenous industrial ecosystem dedicated to helicopters. The joint venture will be dedicated to supplying the Indian armed forces with Made in India, state-of-the-art helicopters of high reliability, quality and safety standard based on combat-proven platforms.”
 
Both companies will now get into discussions to finalise the formation of the joint venture which will act as the prime contractor for India’s military helicopter tenders including the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Helicopter, the Naval Utility Helicopter and the Naval Multirole Helicopter procurement programs.
 
S P Shukla, group president, Aerospace and Defence Sector and chairman, Mahindra Defence Systems Limited, said, “We have extensive expertise in engineering, automotive and fixed-wing sectors and have made substantial investments in aero components manufacturing, while Airbus Helicopters offers best-in-class rotorcraft platforms. Together, we will produce India’s next-generation helicopters that will not only answer our country’s defence needs but will also have the potential for exports in the future.”
 
The resulting joint venture, which aims to become the first private Indian helicopter manufacturer under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, will create hundreds of high-tech jobs locally and lead to a flow of cutting edge technologies to India should it be selected in the governmental helicopter tenders.
 
Tie up with Airbus Helicopters is the third major collaboration pact between a Mahindra group company and overseas firm in aerospace sector in the last couple of months. In June 2015, Canadian firm Magellan Aerospace signed a partnership agreement with Mahindra Aerospace to offer their mutual customers major structural assemblies, machined components and fabrications from India. In the same month, GE Aviation and Mahindra Aerospace agreed to collaborate on manufacturing opportunities for aerostructures.