Embraer and Mahindra select Nagpur as site for Indian C-390 production line
Embrear’s KC-390 is set to face off against the Lockheed Martin C-130J in a competitive tender for the Indian Air Force.
Brazilian airframer Embraer has selected a location for its proposed C-390 transport assembly line in India.
Embraer is partnered with Indian manufacturer Mahindra to bid for the Indian air force’s NR1 trillion ($10 billion) Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) tender. The pair are competing against the rival team of US defence giant Lockheed Martin and Indian industrial conglomerate Tata offering Lockheed’s C-130J.
European airframer Airbus is also potentially in the mix, with its A400M transport.
Embraer and Mahindra now say, if selected to supply a new transport for the Indian air force (IAF), they will develop a C-390 final assembly line in the Indian city of Nagpur in Maharashtra state.
The companies say they are working closely with the Maharashtra regional government on the proposal, with the objective of ensuring the required infrastructure can be “progressed expeditiously” if Embraer and Mahindra prevail in New Delhi’s competitive evaluation process.
“Identifying Nagpur as a potential location for an assembly facility is an important step in building a robust, long-term aerospace ecosystem in the country,” says Bosco da Costa Junior, chief executive of Embraer Defense & Security.
Industrial offsets and local economic impacts will be key evaluation criteria in deciding the ultimate MTA vendor. India’s defence acquisition guidelines generally require at least 50% locally sourced content for major purchases, although that figure can be higher.
As with other Indian defence programmes, an initial tranche of aircraft will be manufactured by the OEM, while the bulk of the order will subsequently be assembled in India by a local partner.
The Medium Transport Aircraft tender covers at least 60 transports meant to replace more than 100 ageing Soviet-era transports operated by the Indian air force. Source: Embraer
Mumbai-headquartered Mahindra says an Indian-built C-390 will help cultivate a “globally competitive” aerospace ecosystem in the subcontinent while contributing meaningfully to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat, or “Self-Reliant India”, economic policy agenda.
Aerospace plays a central role in that framework, which includes developing an indigenous jet engine and space sector independence.
“As we work with Embraer on the C-390 Millennium, we are preparing the industrial ecosystem required to support the programme at scale,” says Vinod Sahay, who sits on the executive board of the Mahindra Group. “These preparations are, of course, subject to the selection of the C-390 Millennium by the government of India and the placement of the IAF order.”
Sahay notes that the Maharashtra state government has allotted land in Nagpur in support of the bid.
The MTA tender will cover at least 60 new aircraft, which will replace the IAF’s ageing fleet of 100 Antonov An-32s and 17 Ilyushin Il-76s.
Both Embraer and Lockheed have touted their aircraft’s attributes and their respective offers for local production in the build up to the start of the MTA competition, which came in August when New Delhi released a formal request for proposal.
Embraer currently assembles C-390s in Brazil at the company’s Gaviao Peixoto defence manufacturing hub in Sao Paulo state. Lockheed builds new C-130Js in Marietta, Georgia, but sources tail sections for all new-build Super Hercules transports from a Tata-run plant in Hyderabad.
The American company also plans to establish a final production line in India as part of its MTA bid.
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