NEW DELHI, Apr 9: Mahindra Aerostructures will manufacture the fuselage for the single-engine Airbus H130 helicopters, with the first unit expected to be delivered by March 2027, a major boost for indigenous aerospace manufacturing activities in India.

The eight-seater H130 is a popular helicopter that is used for transport, tourism, medical, surveillance and private aviation activities.

While financial details were not disclosed about the contract, which was announced in the national capital on Wednesday, the fuselage will be manufactured at the Mahindra Aerostructures facility in the Kolar district, Karnataka, and the company expects to produce 60-70 H130 fuselages annually.

Under the agreement, the company, part of the diversified Mahindra & Mahindra Group, will produce the H130 helicopter’s main fuselage assembly, which will be shipped to Airbus Helicopters’ facilities in Europe.

The first cabin assembly is scheduled for delivery by March 2027, according to Mahindra Aerostructures.

President of Airbus India and Managing Director of South Asia Region Remi Maillard said Airbus will continue to invest in India and aims to increase sourcing of components and services from India to be worth USD 2 billion before 2030.

In 2024, the sourcing stood at USD 1.4 billion, higher than USD 1 billion recorded in 2023 and USD 500 million seen in 2019.

At the function for the signing of the contract, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said India is destined to become a global aviation hub.

There is a huge demand in the sector and a need for boosting the country’s manufacturing ecosystem in order to start making aircraft in India.

In India, around 200 MSMEs and startups are currently having a strong foothold in the manufacturing ecosystem. “We want to see this grow also,” Naidu said.

Mahindra Group already supplies a variety of parts and sub-assemblies for Airbus commercial aircraft programmes.

Mahindra Group President — Aerospace and Defence — Vinod Sahay told PTI that the demand for H130 is good, and it expects to produce 60-70 fuselage per year, and the number is expected to be bigger in the coming years.

“H130 is actually one of the helicopters in the family. Since it is a platform-based family, the fuselage for most of the helicopters are common, and if not common, there is a high degree of commonality.

“We are hopeful of other helicopters of the same family. We should convince Airbus and if they are happy with us, they should award those (to us)…,” he said.

Currently, Mahindra Aerospace business has around 300 suppliers.

European major Airbus has been strengthening its presence in India, which is one of the world’s fastest-growing civil aviation markets.

“The H130 fuselage contract is the latest in the series of complex systems awarded to Indian companies, including the A220 doors… we will not stop here… We are on a trajectory to further grow the ecosystem,” Malliard said.

Last year, Airbus awarded the contract to manufacture and assemble its A220 Family aircraft doors to Bengaluru-based Dynamatic Technologies.

Among other ventures in India, Airbus has a Final Assembly Line (FAL) for C295 military transport aircraft in a joint venture with Tatas, and a FAL for H125 helicopter will also be set up in the country.

Airbus has over 3,600 employees across its various sites and supports more than 15,000 jobs through its supply chain, as per its website.

“We are delighted to deepen our long-standing partnership with Airbus through this pivotal aerostructures contract… this collaboration highlights our commitment to supporting the Government of India’s flagship ‘Make In India’ programme,” Mahindra Group CEO and MD Anish Shah said.

In recent times, there has been a significant push for Make In India activities in the civil aviation space.

Last month, Sakthi Aircraft Industry — Sakthi Aircraft Industry is a joint venture between Tamil Nadu’s Sakthi Group and Austria’s Diamond Aircraft — announced it will be making 150 trainer aircraft in India.

Last week, CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) and Pioneer Clean AMPS Pvt Ltd entered into a technology license agreement for the two-seater trainer aircraft Hansa-3 (NG). (PTI)