Airbus Group claims that in 2015 it became the first foreign aerospace & defence original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to exceed the US$500m annual procurement mark from India. This figure represents a 15% increase over 2014. The Group has now set its sights on exceeding US$2 billion in cumulative procurement, covering both civil and defence, in the five years up to 2020.
According to the European group, over 6,000 people at more than 45 suppliers, both public and private, are directly engaged in providing engineering & IT services, aero-structures, detail parts & systems, materials and cabins for platforms including A380, A350 XWB, A320 family, A330, C295W, A400M, Eurofighter, Tiger and NH90. Around 80% of the Group’s nearly 500 direct employees in India are engineers.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) makes half of the entire A320 forward passenger doors produced worldwide. Dynamatic Technologies makes A320 flap track beams on a global single source basis and was given the contract last year to manufacture them for the A330.
Mahindra Aerospace is on contract from Airbus subsidiary Premium Aerotec to supply more than a million aero-components per year. Aequs has recently inaugurated a dedicated machining facility in Belagavi, the largest of its kind in India, adding to a pre-existing sheet metal, assembly and forging facility and special process operations for Airbus commercial aircraft programmes.
UTC Aerospace Systems makes evacuation slides, interior and exterior lighting, power drive units, auxiliary motors and passenger supply cabin modules for all Airbus commercial aircraft while Axis Cades and Quest provide engineering services for the Fuselage and Wing & Pylon sections respectively, through dedicated design centres, each employing over 200 engineers.
Tata Advanced Materials Ltd. (TAML) provides composite parts for the wing for the A350 XWB and A320 programmes while another Tata Group company, TAL Manufacturing solutions, has partnered with RUAG Aero-structures to supply over 500 sheet metal and machined parts and sub-assemblies for the A320 programme. In addition, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL) will supply refuelling pods for the A330 MRTT to Airbus Defence and Space via Cobham.
Wipro has received technology transfer from an Airbus Defence and Space JV company in Spain to manufacture more than 8000 aerospace actuators per year, which go on platforms such as A400M, CN235 and C295W while SEFEE India designs, develops, manufactures and tests complete electrical harness systems for aircraft like A400M and several helicopter types.
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