Brazilian aerospace major Embraer sees the Indian Air Force’s push to modernise its transport fleet as an opportunity to establish C-390 Millennium production in India, with locally made aircraft potentially serving a wider Asian market that could require 500 planes of this class over the next 20 years, Embraer Defense & Security CEO Bosco da Costa Junior said on Friday.
The other three firms have not yet announced their partnerships for the project. Tata Advanced Systems has teamed up with US firm Lockheed Martin, which has offered its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft for the MTA contest. The MTA is set to become only the second military aircraft to be manufactured in India by a private consortium, following the landmark C295 programme.
Embraer and Mahindra Group are jointly bidding for the IAF’s medium transport aircraft (MTA) programme, targeting a potential ₹ 1 lakh crore contract for 60 aircraft. The IAF currently operates a fleet of 12 C-130J medium-sized airlifters, which have been extensively used for various missions, including supporting the military’s forward deployments in the Ladakh sector during the 2020-24 India-China military stand-off along the contested Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems are jointly executing a ₹ 21,935-crore contract to equip the IAF with 56 C-295 aircraft.
We are not here just to sell 60 aircraft and return to Brazil. Embraer is looking at India as a production and export hub for the C-390 as 40-45% of the addressable market for this class of aircraft is here in Asia. That translates into a demand for roughly 500 aircraft over the next 20 years,” Costa Junior said in an interview with HT. The remarks come three months after the government initiated the procurement of 60 transport aircraft for the IAF, inviting bids from five Indian companies: Mahindra Group, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Adani Defence & Aerospace, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Reliance Defence. The deadline for submitting bids is January 13, people aware of the matter said. The first 12 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition, with the rest manufactured in India. Under the MTA framework, planes built in India must have 40% indigenous content, and the contract must be executed within 11 years, the people said. Embraer and Mahindra are considering setting up the first C-390 final assembly line outside Brazil in Nagpur if they secure the IAF contract. The C-390 Millennium is a multi-mission military transport aircraft designed to perform a range of missions, including troop and cargo transport, airdrop operations, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting and humanitarian missions. It has a payload capacity of up to 26 tonnes and is designed to operate from temporary or unpaved runways. The IAF is looking for a new transport aircraft with an 18-to-30-tonne cargo-carrying capacity to meet its growing airlift needs. Brazil renewed its push for the C-390 under the MTA programme on the sidelines of the 18th Brics Summit in Delhi in September.
“We believe we have the right platform, and see India as a strategic partner. The Indian firms are bidding for the programme in partnership with global OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). The MTA contest aligns with the government’s Make in India initiative to boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector. The winner must set up a production line for the aircraft in India.
“We are looking to build a complete C-390 ecosystem in Nagpur, including a state-of-the-art hangar, a highly automated aircraft assembly line, MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facilities, local manufacturing of aircraft structures, avionics, components and spares, system integration and supply chain development,” Costa Junior said.
